Ill 


mm 


HI  i  9( 


LIBRARY 

OF  THK 

University  of  California. 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALS WORTH. 

Received  October,  i8g4. 
^Accessions  No. S^ 2,^2^-      Class  No. 


/ch> 


LECTURES   ON  ROMANISM, 


LECTURES  ON  ROMAOTSM, 

BEING 

ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  REFUTATIONS 

OF    THE 

ERRORS  OF  ROMANISM  AND  TRACTARIANISM, 

BT    THE 

REV.    JOHN    GUMMING,    D.  D. 

M 

MJQilBTSK  OF  TIH  SCOTTISa  NATIONAL  CHVBCa,  CKOWM  COUkT,  COTENT  GA&DEIf, 
LOKDOX. 


*'  Beloved,  ■when  I  gave  all  diligence  to  write  unto  you  of  the  common  salvation,  it 
■was  needful  for  me  to  write  unto  you,  and  exhort  you  that  ye  should  earnestly 
contend  for  the  fiiith  ■which  ■was  once  delivered  unto  the  eaints."  —  Jude  iii. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  P.  JEWETT  AND   COMPANY. 
CLEVELAND,   OHIO:       ^_^ 
JEWETT,  PROCTOR,  AND  W0RTimi^M^j3R*^^X# 

1854.        j^^  or  TBM^^^ 

^.  iiTiriVBiisiTr] 


K^. 


CAMBRIDGE  : 

ALLEN   AND  FAliNHAM,  STEREOTYPEaS  AND   PRINTERS. 


mm 


Hdsitbrsitt] 

PREFACE 


Large  editions  of  this  Work  have  been  sold  in 
England.  This  edition  contains  much  additional 
matter.  The  first  two  Lectures  were  delivered  at 
the  Hanover  Rooms  in  the  autumn  of  1850.  The 
other  Lectures  have  been  recast  by  their  author,  their 
positions  strengthened,  the  quotations  verified,  and 
the  references  given.  The  Lecturer  has  rewritten 
some  parts,  rendered  plainer  and  more  perspicuous 
other  parts,  and,  where  it  appeared  desirable,  he 
has  added  new  explanatory  and  illustrative  notes. 
The  absorbing  controversy  of  the  age  will  lie 
between  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  on  the 
one  side,  and  the  principles  of  Romanism,  whether 
openly  avowed  and  embodied  in  the  Canons  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  and  in  the  Canon  Law,  or  more 
dimly  shadowed  forth  and  expressed  by  the  Tracta- 
rian  party.  The  unhappy  disputes  which  have 
divided  Protestants,  both  in  England  and  in  Scot- 
land, about  mere  abstractions  or  questions  of  eccle- 
siastical finance,  or  forms  and  ceremonies,  or  patron- 


VI  PREFACE. 


age,  or  popular  elections  of  ministers,  are,  it  is  feared, 
the  too  successful  attempts  of  the  great  enemy  to 
weaken  the  side  of  truth,  in  order  to  strengthen  the 
forces  and  facilitate  the  victories  of  Antichrist.  It 
is  certainly  the  fact,  that  great  divisions  among 
Protestants  have  always  preceded  Rome's  greatest 
triumphs. 

Believing  this,  every  true  Christian  ought  to  do 
his  utmost  to  repress  internal  disputes  and  conten- 
tions among  true  believers ;  and  where  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  secure  outward  uniformity,  to  labor  to  nourish 
that  forbearance  in  love  —  that  gentleness  and  ten- 
derness of  language  —  that  peacemaking  and  peace- 
maintaining  course  of  action,  which,  if  it  do  not 
heal,  .will  at  least  mitigate  the  schisms  and  heart- 
burnings and  strifes  of  the  day.  The  noblest  uni- 
formity consists  in  resembling  Christ,  and  the  truest 
unity  in  loving  Christ. 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  I.. 

PACK 

The  Teaching  of  Cardinal  Wiseman       ....        1 


LECTURE  IL 
Cardinal  Wiseman,  "  iiis  Oath,  and  its  Obligations  "       38 

LECTURE  m. 
What  is  Popery  ? 84 

LECTURE  IV. 
Is  Tractarianism  Popery  1 98 

LECTURE  V. 
UoAiisH  Plausible  Pretensions 126 

LECTURE  VI. 
Apostolical  Succession 151) 

LECTURE  VII. 
The  Unity  of  the  Church  ......     193 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE  VlII. 
The  Eatiikrs 202 

LECTURE  IX. 
The  Nicene  Church 238 

LECTURE  X. 
The  Bible,  not  Tradition  ....  .     2G4 

LECTURE  XL 
The  Invocation  of  Saints 295 

LECTURE  XII. 
Transubstantiation 332 

LECTURE  XIII. 
The  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass 359 

LECTURE  XIV. 
Purgatory 391 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  Baenet  Discussion 421 

Review  of  Dr.  Newman's  Lectures   .        .  .  501 

Romish  Miracles .         .  593 

Romanism   not    the    Patron,    but    the    Persecutor   of 

Science 703 


"iriinTBBsrrT; 

THE   GREAT  APOSTASY 


LECTURE    I. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  CARDINAL  WISEMAN.* 

I  RISE  to  express  my  deep  regret  that  so  many  are  incon- 
venienced by  the  pressure,  on  the  one  hand ;  but,  on  the 
other,  to  own  my  gratitude  to  God  that  the  popularity,  or 
rather  invasion  of  Dr.  Wiseman,  has  brought  together  so 
large  a  number  to  protest  against  his  new  and  daring  assump- 
tion of  power,  preeminence,  and  spiritual  jurisdiction  in  this 
land.  I  cannot,  I  believe,  do  better  than  commence  the  lec- 
ture which  I  am  asked  to  deliver,  by  reading  what  appears 
to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most  precious  and  memorable  docu- 
ments that  have  proceeded  from  high  official  authority  at 
any  period,  or  under  any  crisis,  in  our  history  since  the 
Reformation,  or  from  any  quarter  —  I  allude  to  that  noble, 
Protestant,  and  faithful  letter  addressed  by  Lord  John 
Russell  to  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  which  has  just  appeared ; 
a  document  which,  I  confess,  I  expected  from  his  Lordship, 
believing  that  his  principles  were  as  they  are  there  so  elo- 
quently and  justly  embodied.  It  is,  I  think,  a  document 
that  gives  the  crowning  blow  to  the  mighty,  wide  spread, 
and,  I  doubt  not,  ultimately  successful  efforts  that  have  been 
made  by  the  daily  metropolitan  press  to  enable  all  to  appre- 
ciate the  crisis,  as  well  as  to  arouse  the  sympathies  of  Pro- 
testants against  this  invasion.    It  is,  perhaps,  supererogatory 

♦Delivered  m  the  Hanover  Square  Rooms,  Thursday,  Nov.  7, 1850. 
1 


2  THE    GREAT    ArOSTAAT. 

to  read  the  letter  of  his  Lordship,  as  it  is,  I  b(ilieve,  in  all 
the  morning  papers.  But  there  is  one  part  of  it  which  I 
cannot  but  notice  with  delight :  "  I  confess,  however,"  says 
his  Lordship,  "  that  my  alarm  is  not  equal  to  my  indigna- 
tion." We  feel  no  alarm.  There  is  no  ground  for  alarm. 
We  feel  just  and  strong  indignation.  He  then  states,  "  that 
the  present  state  of  the  law  shall  be  carefully  examined, 
and  the  propriety  of  adopting  any  proceedings  with  refer- 
ence to  the  recent  assumptions  of  power  deliberately  con- 
sidered." I  have  no  doubt  that  this  will  be  done.  It  is 
demanded  by  the  country  at  large ;  and  such  a  sentiment 
comes  with  the  greater  grace  from  that  distinguished  noble- 
man, who  advocated  what  are  called  the  claims  of  1829, 
than  from  those  who  were  despised  as  prophets  at  the  time^ 
and  who  spoke  but  too  near  the  truth,  when  they  expressed 
their  fears,  that  that  measure  was  not  so  expedient  in  all 
respects  as  some  supposed  it  to  be.  Lord  John  Russell  pen- 
etrates the  secret  of  this  unprecedented  invasion.  There 
must  have  been  a  previous  temptation.  I  need  not  tell  you 
that  even  the  cholera  itself  does  not  strike  its  victim  unless 
there  be  a  contaminated  air  to  act  as  its  conductor ;  and  Car- 
dinal Wiseman,  who  personates  a  moral  and  spiritual  pesti- 
lence, as  I  am  prepared  to  show,  would  never  have  been 
pontifically  dropped  in  the  midst  of  us,  if  it  had  not  been 
represented  to  the  Pope  —  more  or  less  truly,  it  remains  for 
each  to  determine  for  himself — that  our  moral  and  eccle- 
siastical atmosphere  was  thoroughly  tainted,  and  that  he 
might  expect  to  meet  not  with  resistance,  but  with  a  cordial 
welcome.  The  Premier  says,  therefore,  "  Clergymen  of  our 
own  Church,  who  have  subscribed  the  Thirty-nine  Articles, 
and  acknowledged  in  explicit  terms  the  Queen's  supremacy, 
have  been  the  most  forward  in  leading  their  flocks,  '  step  by 
step  to  the  very  verge  of  the  precipice.' "  [A  slight  disturb- 
ance here  took  place  in  some  of  the  most  densely  crowded 
parts  of  the  room:]     I  beg  to  make  one  little  request,  and  it 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISESIAN.  3 

is  this :  I  know  there  are  Roman  Catholics  present  in  the 
room ;  and  I  know,  too,  that  the  friends  of  the  new  Arch- 
bishop of  Westminster  will  be  most  gratified,  if  they  can  only 
prevail  upon  Protestants  not  acquainted  with  their  tact  to  call 
out, "  Quiet,"  "  Order,"  or  to  make  any  noise  that  will  prevent 
me  from  being  heard.  Having,  with  my  friend  Admiral 
Harcourt,  some  practical  experience  in  this  matter,  I  will 
promise  to  manage  the  Cardinal's  friends,  if  the  Protestants 
will  only  take  care  of  themselves  and  their  own  interests,  and 
be  quiet.  "  The  honor,"  says  the  Premier,  "  paid  to  saints, 
the  claim  of  infallibility  for  the  Church,  the  superstitious  use 
of  the  sign  of  the  cross,  the  muttering  of  the  liturgy,  so  as  to 
disguise  the  language  in  which  it  is  written,  the  recom- 
mendation of  auricular  confession."  Perhaps  some  do  not 
know  what  is  meant  by  muttering  the  language  of  the  liturgy: 
I  have  heard  some  ministers  read  it — I  do  not  like  that;  I 
have  heard  some  ministers  intone  it — I  like  that  still  less ;  I 
have  heard  other  ministers  joray  it — I  like  that  excessively. 
"All  these  things  are  pointed  out  by  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England  as  worthy  of  adoption,  and  are  now 
openly  reprehended  by  the  Bishop  of  London  in  his  Charge 
to  the  clergy  of  his  diocese."  I  must  say,  in  reference  to  the 
letter  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  to  which  Lord  John  alludes, 
addressed  to  the  AVestminster  clergy,  and  after  thorough 
examination,  that  it  is  a  document  truly  Protestant,  and  well 
fitted  to  direct  the  clergy  to  a  healthier  tone  of  preaching. 

Having  read  these  extracts  from  the  letter  of  the  Premier, 
I  beg  to  state,  in  addressing  you  this  day,  that  I  have  no 
pretensions  to  gi*eater  acumen,  or  to  a  juster  appreciation 
of  the  crisis  in  which  we  are  placed,  than  thousands  of  my 
brethren  in  London ;  but  having  long  and  laboriously  studied 
this  subject,  1  felt  that  there  was  a  possibility  of  the  tide 
which  has  set  in  with  such  strength  and  force,  running  in 
the  wrong  direction : — that  it  was  just  possible  we  might,  in 
our  hatred  of  this  gross  invasion,  fly  to  the  extreme  of 


4  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

renewing  pains  and  penalties  which  are  not  expedient,  or 
engaging  in  a  jDroscriptive  and  persecuting,  and  merely  poli- 
tical course,  which  I  conceive  would  be  attended  with  no 
great  practical  advantage. 

As  you  may  suppose,  I  have  no  personal  hostility  to  his 
Eminence,  if  you  w^ill  allow  me  to  call  him  so,  or  to  the 
Archbishop,  as  he  a.ssumes  to  be,  of  Westminster.  Cardinal 
Wiseman  is  a  distinguished  scholar,  a  most  accompHshed  sci- 
entific writer ;  and  any  one  acquainted  with  his  work  upon 
science  and  religion  will  be  ready  to  own  that  he  is  a  scholar 
of  the  very  highest  order  in  that  particular  department ; 
but  this  must  not  lead  you  to  suppose  that  being  a  perfect 
scholar,  he  has  therefore  a  presumption  that  he  must  be  a 
perfect  theologian  and  a  true  Christian.  It  is  possible  to 
know  every  star  in  the  firmament,  and  yet  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  "  Bright  and  Morning  Star ; "  it  is  possible  to  know  all 
the  stores  that  are  in  the  golden  mines  of  the  earth,  and  yet 
to  be  as  destitute  as  ignorant  of  "  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ;"  it  is  possible  to  know  every  flower  that  beautifies 
the  garden,  and  yet  not  to  know  the  "  Rose  of  Sharon  ; "  to 
have  all  the  knowledge  of  all  the  encyclopasdias  of  the 
world,  and  yet  to  be  ignorant  of  that  which  even  a  Sunday 
school  child  knows  —  the  answer  to  the  question,  which  the 
Protestant  Church  alone  can  give,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ? "  — "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved."  I  have  no  desire,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
interfere  with  the  rights  and  the  privileges,  whatever  they 
may  be,  of  my  Roman  Catholic  fellow-countrymen.  Cardinal 
Wiseman  has  as  great  liberty  to  tread  the  soil,  and  breathe 
the  air  of  Old  England,  provided  he  conform  to  its  laws, 
as  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  London,  or 
any  layman  in  the  arch-diocese  of  the  one  or  the  diocese  of 
the  other.  We  do  not  wish  to  take  from  him  his  civil  rights 
and  privileges,  but  we  meet  here  to  protest  —  while  we 
acknowledge  he  is  entitled  to  all  the  rights  of  a  citizen  —  that 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  0 

he  has  no  right,  at  the  dictation  of  a  foreign  potentate,  and 
that  potentate  an  Italian  priest,  and  that  priest  notoriously 
a  mischief-maker,  to  parcel  out  Old  England  into  Popish 
dioceses,  and  claim  all  baptized  men  as  subjects  amenable  to 
his  power  and  jurisdiction.  But  I  do  not  desire,  at  least  in 
this  lecture,  to  regard  our  visitor  in  red  as  a  cardinal  at  all. 
He  assumes,  on  the  one  hand,  to  be  a  cardinal  —  that  is,  a 
temporal  prince  ;  and  if  as  a  temporal  prince  he  meddle  with 
the  rights  and  the  privileges  and  the  jurisdiction  of  our  most 
gracious  Sovereign,  judging  from  the  letter  of  Lord  John 
Russell,  and  no  less  so  from  the  mettle  and  temper  of  our 
country,  I  am  satisfied  he  will  meet  with  that  resistance 
which  will  tell  him  how  great  a  blunder  his  master  has  per- 
petrated in  sending  him  here.  As  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
myself,  I  treat  him  on  this  occasion  as  an  archbishop,  pro- 
fessing to  teach  certain  doctrines,  and  to  inculcate  certain 
lessons ;  and  I  wish  to  ascertain  by  sober  analysis — not  by 
presenting  to  you  the  sunshine  of  rhetoric  or  of  flowers,  but 
the  daylight  of  plain  truth,  argument,  and  fact  —  whethei 
Westminster  will  be  very  much  benefited  by  getting  rid  of 
or  superseding  the  ministers  tliat  now  instruct  it,  and  open- 
ing its  ears  to  the  instructions  of  his  Eminence  the  Cardinal 
Archbishop  of  Westminster.  Whatever,  let  me  add,  be  his 
teaching  —  however  obnoxious  his  presence,  we  must  be 
careful  not  to  tread  in  the  least  degree  upon  the  verge  of 
what  might  be  considered  or  construed  as  persecution.  I 
beheve  that  persecution  never  yet  recovered  a  pervert,  and 
it  never  yet  made  a  convert.  If  the  sword  is  to  be 
Unsheathed,  let  it  be  unsheathed  by  the  friends  of  the  Car- 
dinal, not  by  the  friends  of  the  Protestant  Church.  If  the 
fagots  are  to  be  kindled,  let  them  be  kindled  by  Pius  IX., 
not  by  those  who  have  learned  a  more  excellent  lesson.  For 
if  you  begin  to  persecute,  depend  upon  it,  men's  sympathy 
with  the  suffering  victim  will  make  them  forget  the  dead- 
liness  and  darkness  of  the  error  which  he  teaches;  and 
1* 


6  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

instead  of  advancing  the  grand  design  you  have  in  view,  you 
will  materially  impede  and  arrest  it. 

I  do  not,  in  the  next  place,  I  confess,  sympathize  very 
much  with  those  who  wish  to  treat  the  Cardinal  on  what  are 
called  mere  ecclesiastical  grounds.  You  are  aware  that 
there  is  a  class  alluded  to  by  the  Prime  Minister  who  say : 
"We,  the  Protestant  Church,  will  not  send  a  bishop  to 
Home  to  teach  Protestantism  there ;  and  we  ask  you,  in  all 
courtesy  and  in  all  fairness,  not  to  send  a  Popish  bishop  to 
London  to  teach  Popery  there."  It  is  not  a  question  of 
orders.  I  confess,  if  Protestantism  be  what  the  Pope  de- 
signates it  —  a  deadly  heresy,  and  if  Popery  be  what  Cardi- 
nal Wiseman  contends  it  is  —  a  great  truth,  the  Pope  has 
done  or  intended  an  act  of  great  kindness  in  sending  a  car- 
dinal missionary  to  instruct  us.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if 
it  be  the  reverse,  I  cannot  sympathize  with  that  compact 
which  says  to  the  Pope  :  "  You  keep  your  bishops  in  Aus- 
tria, in  Italy,  and  in  Spain  ;  and  we  will  keep  our  bishops 
in  England  and  Ireland,  and  in  the  realms  of  her  Majesty." 
Wherever  you  have  free  trade,  let  there  be  no  free  trade 
with  Popery  —  no  compromise,  no  compact  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Pope,  or  with  the  Pope  himself;  we  must 
protest  against  him  and  his  principles,  as  our  fathers  did, 
conceding,  indeed,  the  largest  husk  of  prejudice,  but  not 
compromising  the  least  living  seed  of  vital  Christianity. 

Again,  the  Pope  having,  it  is  truly  said,  ignored  the  Pro- 
testant Church,  and  stated  that  it  is  no  church  at  all,  that  its 
ministers  are  not  ministers  at  all,  and  that  it  cannot  show 
the  people  the  way  to  heaven,  I  am  astonished  that  any 
should  have  expressed  surprise  at  this  phenomenon  :  it  only 
shows  how  important  were  the  remarks  of  Admiral  Har- 
court  —  when  he  stated  that  we  should  have  learned  this 
controversy  before.  Instead  of  being  surprised  at  what  has 
occurred  we  should  have  expected  it.  The  predecessors  ot 
Pio  Nono  thought  the  same. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    CARDINAL   WISEMAN.  7 

But  I  may  mention  one  thing  that  I  have  noticed,  and 
frequently  thought  of  before  —  that  if  there  be  something  so 
excellent  in  Roman  Catholic  teaching  that  it  is  worth  the 
Pope's  while  to  send  a  cardinal  to  London  to  supersede  or 
ignore  the  Protestant  Church  and  teaching,  it  may  be  worth 
while  inquiring  what  has  been  the  practical  fruits  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Pope  himself,  the  very  chief  of  all,  as  well 
as  of  the  cardinals  of  Rome,  to  whose  number  Cardinal 
Wiseman  has  recently  been  added  in  the  city  itself.  In 
1848  a  great  convulsion  shook  almost  the  globe  —  certainly 
Europe  —  to  its  very  centre.  It  has  been  found,  in  look- 
ing back  to  1848,  that  there  was  then  in  Rome  an  eccle-A. 
siastic  of  some  sort  for  every  thirty  people,  and  that  there 
was  a  priest  for  every  seventy  or  eighty  people.  Now  what 
I  argue  is,  that  if  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome  be  so 
precious,  it  has  had  a  most  splendid  opportunity  of  develop- 
ing its  effects  and  bearing  fruits  in  what  is  called  the  capital 
of  the  Christian  world;  so  that  if  Popery  has  failed  in 
Rome,  it  has  failed,  not  from  want  of  hands  to  work  it,  or  of 
priests  to  represent  it,  but  from  some  inherent  vice  or  defect 
in  the  system  itself.  On  looking  to  London,  it  is  found  that 
there  is  not  a  minister  of  any  denomination  for  every  ten 
thousand  people  ;  and  it  might  justly  be  argued,  that  if  Pro- 
testantism has  failed  in  London,  it  has  failed  from  the  simple 
fact,  that  it  is  not  adequately  represented,  and  efficiently 
carried  out,  and  so  brought  home  to  the  hearts,  habits,  and 
consciences  of  the  people.  But  what  are  the  facts  ?  When 
that  revolution  shook  Europe  in  1848,  the  subjects  of  the 
Pope  —  of  that  city  which  was  to  be  the  model  city  of  the 
world  —  whose  people,  being  at  head-quarters,  might  be  pre- 
sumed to  be  the  holiest  in  the  world  —  whose  contiguity  to 
the  Vicar  of  Christ  should  insure  something  jpar  excellence 
spiritual,  holy,  loyal,  devoted,  and  perfect — on  feeling  the 
first  vibration  of  that  earthquake,  rose  en  masse  —  his  "  be- 
loved subjects,"  his  own  dear  metropolitan  people,  his  own 


8  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

pet  representatives  of  what  Popery  makes  a  people,  and 
what  a  people  ought  to  be  —  rose  en  masse,  and  murdered 
his  prime  minister  before  his  face,  dismissed  him  in  a  foot- 
man's livery  upon  a  coachman's  box ;  and,  judging  by  facts 
that  have  since  transpired,  they  are  the  last  people  to  wish 
him  back  again.  But  what  took  place  in  London  ?  The 
same  wave  that  washed  away  the  Pope,  swept  the  metropo- 
lis of  Old  England.  A  few  of  the  Cardinal's  friends,  as  pio- 
neers and  preparatives,  began  to  disturb  our  capital  with 
their  crotchets,  and  to  shout  for  some  points  which  they  pro- 
fessed or  tried  to  believe  to  be  right,  but  which  were  known 
by  all  sensible  men  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  rights  of  the 
Sovereign  and  the  liberties  of  the  subject.  They  threatened 
a  rising,  and  began  to  agitate,  and  what  actually  occurred  ? 
Here,  where  Protestantism  is  inadequately  brought  home  to 
the  people,  from  the  want  of  a  sufficient  supply  of  teachers 
and  ministers  —  and  this  should  make  us  cease  our  internal 
quarrels  —  the  whole  mass  of  our  population  rose,  as  I  saw 
myself,  and  lined  every  street ;  put  down,  by  presenting 
themselves,  the  pretensions  and  the  crotchets  of  the  trouble- 
some, and  rallied  round  their  hearths  and  their  homes,  ready 
to  live  for  their  Queen,  and  to  die  for  their  religion ;  show- 
ing that  Old  England's  shores  are  not  more  proof  against 
the  influx  of  the  sea,  than  her  head  and  heart  against  the 
tides  of  revolution.  If,  then,  Protestantism  makes  us  so 
loyal,  it  is  worth  keeping;  and  if  the  Pope's  religion  has 
utterly  failed  to  make  his  own  dear  people  loyal,  it  is 
scarcely  worth  having. 

I  am  most  anxious  we  should  stand  on  firm  ground.  I 
therefore  hope  there  may  be  nothing  personal  in  our  present 
movement ;  it  is  a  conflict  with  principles,  not  with  persons. 
While  we  have  a  deep  sorrow  that  the  Cardinal  is  so  falsely 
deceived,  deep  indignation  that  he  should  so  intrude,  with 
alien  jurisdiction,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Her  Majesty; 
there  must  at  the  same  time  be  a  deeper  commiseration  for 


THE    TEACHING    OF   CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  » 

the  victims  of  those  deadly  errors  of  which  he  is  the  expo- 
nent. Pity  the  people  —  detest  rebellion  —  confute  error. 
Our  controversy  must  not  be  person  against  person ;  nor 
must  it  be  Church  against  Church ;  it  is  not  the  Church  of 
England  against  the  Church  of  Rome ;  but  it  is  light  against 
darkness,  freedom  against  slavery ;  it  is  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  Old  England  against  the  crafts  and  assaults  of  Old 
Home ;  it  is  the  glory  of  our  Blessed  Lord  against  him  who 
sits  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  as  if  he  were 
God.  And  viewing  the  controversy  in  that  light,  I  proceed 
to  notice  what  has  been  designated  in  the  announcement  of 
the  lecture,  the  teaching  of  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of 
Westminster. 

First  of  all,  let  me  presume,  that  when  the  Cardinal  was 
made  an  Archbishop,  he  received  the  pallium,  a  robe  woven 
from  the  fleece  of  certain  sheep,  tended,  I  believe,  by  certain 
nuns ;  ceremoniously  spun,  ceremoniously  woven,  and  cere- 
moniously put  upon  the  Archbishop.  When  he  received 
the  pallium,  he  repeated  a  solemn  oath,  as  is  required  in  his 
Pontifical,  which  will  be  found  in  the  Pontijicale  Romanum. 
I  have  the  book,  and  have  carefully  examined  all  that  he 
must  say  :  it  is  the  edition  of  Clement  VIII.,  Antwerp  edi- 
tion, 1G27.     One  clause  of  the  oath  is  as  follows:  — 

"  Hsereticos,  schismaticos,  et  rebelles.  Domino  Nostro,  vel 
fiuccessoribus  praedictis,  peo  posse,  persequar  et  impug- 

NABO." 

That  is,  he  solemnly  swore,  on  his  most  solemn  oath  (I 
wish  thus  to  prepare  you  for  his  reception)  :  — 

"All  HERETICS  [that  is,  Protestants],  schismatics  [that 
is,  members  of  the  Greek  Church  that  separated,  as  they 
say,  from  Rome],  and  rebels  against  our  Lord,  or  foresaid 
successors,  I  will  persecute  and  attack  to  the  utmost  of 
my  powei'y*  —  the  correct  translation,  I  believe,  of  pro  posse. 

Cardinal  Wiseman  believes,  no  doubt,  what  Cardinal  Bel- 
larmine  teaches ;  "  If  the  heretics  are  stronger  than  we,  and 


10  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

if  there  is  danger  that  if  we  attack  them  (the  words  of  the 
oath)  in  war,  more  of  us  may  fall  tlian  of  them,  we  are  to 
keep  quiet ; "  but  his  obligation  remains.  I  wish  to  impress 
upon  you,  that  you  have  here  a  man  who  will  not  come  into 
collision  with  princi])les  merely,  but  with  persons :  he  does 
not  say,  "  I  will  attack  schism,  and  persecute  heresy,'^  which 
he  might  lawfully  do ;  but,  "  I  will  attack  schismatics,  and 
persecute  heretics''  But  in  looking  over  the  Pontijicale 
Romaniim,  in  order  to  find  out  if  there  were  any  canonical 
weapons  in  that  arsenal  which  the  Cardinal  might  probably 
use  in  case  he  should  get  the  upper  hand  in  Westminster 
(and  if  he  get  the  upper  hand  there,  he  will  soon  get  it  else- 
where), I  noticed  one  remarkable  weapon  which  he  will  no 
doubt  forthwith  employ  ;  I  know  there  are  others,  but  the 
following  caught  my  eye.  It  seems  that  while  the  true 
Church  is  distinguished  for  blessing,  the  Cardinal's  Church 
has  an  amazing  taste  for,  and  sympathy  with,  cursing.  I 
find  that  if  the  daughter  of  any  parent  in  this  assembly 
should  fancy  that  she  has  what  is  called  "  a  religious  incli- 
nation," a  "  mission,"  and  were  to  go  into  a  nunnery,  and 
were  her  parents  to  try  to  rescue  her,  the  following  curse 
would  be  pronounced  upon  him,  and  also  upon  any  one  who 
should  take  the  property  of  the  monasteries  or  of  the  nun- 
neries —  and  many  in  our  country  actually  hold  such  prop- 
erty in  their  possession  just  now  :  — 

"Auctoritate  omnipotentis  Dei  et  "  By  the  authority  of  the  omnipo- 

beatorum  Petri  Pauli  apostolorum  tent  God,  and  of  S  t.  Peter  and  St. 

ejus,  firmiter  et  sub  interrainatione  Paul,  his   apostles,  we  firmly,  and 

anathematis     inhibemus,    ne    quis  under  the  threat  of  anathema,  en- 

prjgsentes  virgines  seu  sanctimoni-  join  that  no  one  carry  off  these  vir- 

ales  a  divino  servitio,  cui  sub  vexillo  gins  or  religious  persons  here  present 

castitatis  subjectse   sunt,    abducat,  from  divine  service,  to  which,  imder 

nullus  earum  bona  surripiat,  sed  ea  the  standard  of  chastity,  they  have 

cum    quiete    possideant.      Si    quis  been  dedicated,  that  no  one  plunder 

autem  hoc  attentare  prsesumpserit,  their  property,  but  that  they  enjoy 

maledictus  sit  in  domo  et  extra  do-  it  in  quiet.    If  any  one  shall  have 

mum ;  maledictus  in  civitate,  et  in  presumed  to  attempt  this,  may  he  bo 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN. 


11 


agro;  maledictus  vigihindo  et  dor- 
miendo;  maledictus  manduciiiido  et 
bibendo;  maledictus  ambulando  et 
sedendo;  maledicta  sint  caro  ejus  et 
ossa,  et  a  planta  pedis  usque  ad  ver- 
tlcem  non  habeat  sauitatem.  Veniat 
super  ilium  maledictio  hominis 
quam  per  Mo3'sen  iu  lege  filiis  ini- 
quitatis  Dominus  permisit.  De- 
leatur  nomen  ejus  de  libro  viven- 
tium,  et  cum  justis  uon  scribatur. 
Fiat  pars  et  hereditas  ejus  cum  Cain 
fratricida  cum  Dathan  et  Abiron, 
cum  Anania  et  Sapphira,  cum  Si- 
moue  Mago  et  Juda  proditore,  et 
cum  eis,  qui  dixeruut  Deo,  Recede  a 
nobis,  semitam  viarum  tuarum  nolu- 
mus.  Pereat  in  die  judicii,  devoret 
eum  ignis  perpetuus  cum  diabolo,  et 
angelis  ejus,  nisi  restituerit  et  ad 
emendationem  venerit.  Fiat.  Fiat. 
[Pont.  Rom.  Clement  VIII.  p.  160. 
Autv.  1627.] 


cursed  in  his  home  and  out  of  his 
home;  may  he  be  cursed  in  the 
state  (or  city),  and  in  the  field, 
cursed  in  watching  and  cursed  in 
sleeping,  cursed  in  eating  and  drink- 
ing, cursed  in  walking  and  sitting; 
may  his  flesh  and  his  bones  be 
cursed,  and  from  the  sole  of  his 
foot  to  the  crown  of  his  head  may 
he  enjoy  no  health.  May  there  light 
upon  him  the  curse  which  the  Lord 
sent  in  the  law,  by  Moses,  on  the 
sons  of  iniquity.  May  his  name  be 
erased  from  the  book  of  the  living, 
and  not  be  recorded  with  the  right- 
eous. May  his  portion  and  his  heri- 
tage be  with  Cain  the  fratricide, 
with  Dathan  and  Abiram,  with  Ana- 
nias and  Sapphira,  with  Simon  Ma- 
gus and  with  Judas  the  traitor,  and 
with  those  who  said  to  God, '  Depart 
from  us,  we  will  not  follow  thy 
ways.'  May  eternal  fire  devour 
him  with  the  devil  and  his  angels, 
unless  he  make  restitution,  and 
come  to  amendment.  So  be  it.  So 
be  it." 

Such  is  the  cursing  subscribed  to  by  Cardinal  Wiseman, 
as  pronounced  in  his  own  document,  and  which,  when  he 
has  the  pro  posse,  according  to  his  oath,  he  will  pronounce 
witli  all  the  proper  accompaniments. 

I  wish,  in  the  next  place,  to  sliow  what  is  the  actual 
teaching  of  the  Cardinal,  by  bringing  before  you  the  books 
that  he  approves  and  the  principles  of  the  men  that  he 
approves,  and  has  commended,  and  will  commend,  to  the 
study  of  the  priests  and  others  of  his  diocese. 

There  is  a  celebrated  personage,  named  Alphonsus 
Liguori,*  who  was  canonized  —  that  is,  enrolled  among  the 

•  See  some  valuable  extracts  from  Liguori,  by  my  dear  friend  and 
brother,  Mr.  Blakeney,  who  first  directed  special  public  attention  to  the 
saint. 


12  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Saints  in  heaven  by  the  pronunciation  of  the  Pope  —  so 
late  a?  the  year  1839.  The  congregation  of  Sacred  Rites 
stated  that  they  had  examined  his  manuscripts  and  printed 
works,  and  that  there  was  "  nothing  censurable  in  any  thing 
St.  Alphonsus  Liguori  had  written."  In  consequence  of 
that,  there  is  in  Cardinal  Wiseman's  breviary,  and  also  in 
his  missal,  which  every  Roman  Catholic  is  bound  to  use  — 
and  if  he  will  produce  it  I  will  be  happy  to  point  out  the 
place  —  the  following  prayer  for  the  2d  day  of  August :  — 

"  Oh  God,  who,  by  the  blessed  Alphonsus,  thy  Confessoi 
and  Pontiff,  inflamed  with  the  love  of  souls,  hast  enriched 
thy  church  with  a  new  offspring,  we  implore  that,  taught  by 
his  instructions,  and  strengthened  by  his  example,  we  may 
be  able  to  come  to  thee  through  the  Lord." 

Every  Roman  Catholic,  then,  prays  that  he  may  be 
strengthened  by  the  example  and  taught  by  the  instructions 
of  the  blessed  Saint  Liguori.  But  this  you  remark  is 
general  authority,  "  catholic  authority "  —  if  I  may  please 
certain  individuals  who  are  fond  of  that  expression.  But 
in  what  way  do  I  identify  Cardinal  Wiseman  with  this  ? 
I  answer,  first  of  all,  I  read  the  following  extract  from  a 
sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Wiseman  on  the  2d  day  of  August 
last,  (the  day  of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori,)  at  the  Clapham 
Roman  Catholic  Chapel.  It  is  quoted  from  the  Tahlet,  the 
Roman  Catholic  Newspaper,  of  August  16th,  1850 :  — 

"  Friday,  August  2d,  being  St.  Alphonsus's  day,  the 
Redemptorists  had  a  grand  function  at  Clapham.  The 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  Wiseman  preached  in  the  evening.  The 
bisliop  took  for  his  text  the  words,  *  The  first  shall  be  last 
and  the  last  first ; '  and  said  that  among  the  many  applica- 
tions this  passage  would  bear,  there  was  one  which  particu- 
larly struck  him  as  he  was  standing  beneath  the  rising  walls 
of  a  church  dedicated  to  the  first  —  the  Mother  of  Saints, 
and  to  the  last  of  the  canonized  servants  of  God — St. 
Alphonsus  [Liguori] The  great  St.  Alphonsus 


THE   TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  13 

was  raised  up  when  minds  were  confused  with  controversies 
and  heresies,  with  clear  intellect  and  delicate  hand  to  trace 
the  thread  of  traditional  truth  amid  the  mazes  of  error,  and 
to  be  a  beacon  to  future  ages.  St.  Alphonsus  was  necessary 
for  an  age  when  all  things  were  infected  with  a  Jansenistic 
spirit,  when  confession  was  made  repulsive  and  difficult, 
instead  of  persons  being  drawn  to  it  as  the  balm  of  a 
wounded  spirit.  Then  St.  Alphonsus  came  to  systematize 
the  sweet  devotions  to  the  passion  and  the  holy  childhood  of 
Jesus,  the  blessed  sacrament,  and  our  blessed  Lady;  not 
that  these  devotions  are  not  to  be  found  in  St.  Bernard  and 
St.  Bonaventure ;  but  as  a  language  may  be  fully  formed, 
and  perfect  without  there  being  either  a  grammar  or  dic- 
tionary of  it,  so  these  devotions  were  unsystematized,  and 
therefore  difficult  to  acquire:  there  was  no  scientific  and 
regular  way  of  approach,  they  were  left  to  personal  experi- 
ence and  personal  gifts;  but  St.  Alphonsus  has  simplified 
the  way  for  us,  he  has  provided  our  grammar  and  dictionary,, 
and  the  language  may  now  he  easily  learned^  and  that  not 
only  by  those  who  are  secluded  from  the  world,  but  also 
by  lay  persons.  Again,  persons  nowadays  can  happily  have 
no  experience  of  what  confession  was  before  St.  Alphonsus ; 
what  a  harsh  and  bitter  thing  the  spirit  of  Jansenism  had 
made  it,  and  how  severe  were  the  external  penances 
enjoined:  he  has  so  changed  the  face  of  the  church  that 
now  there  is  perhaps  not  a  theological  school  in  the  world 
which  would  care  to  give  its  students  any  treatise  of  moral 
theohgy  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  St.  Alphonso,  gentle  to  past 
sins,  severe  to  the  occasion  of  them.  What  immense  influ- 
ence has  he  exercised !  and  yet  he  is  in  all  senses  a  saint 
of  modern  times,  adapted  to  the  wants  and  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  age,  lived  in  the  time  of  our  fathers,  and  his 
canonization  was  but  yesterday."  This  is  no  mean  eulogium 
of  Dr.  Wiseman  on  Liguori. 

There  is  a  book  also  which  was  the  first  that  led  me  to 
2 


14  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

follow  up  the  subject  of  this  lecture,  and  which  I  regard  a3 
singularly  applicable  to  the  present  crisis,  called  the  "  Life 
of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori,"  published  by  Dolman,  1846,  by 
the  lit.  Rev.  Dr.  Wiseman  —  that  is.  Cardinal  Wiseman. 
This  Alphonsus  Liguori,  and  his  principles  and  practices,  he 
has  commended  in  this  work.  The  Cardinal  is  so  charmed 
with  this  saint  of  1839  that  he  has  written  his  life  in  1846, 
giving  its  minutest  passages,  and  amongst  other  things  ex- 
planatory of  his  entire  sympathy  with  Liguori,  he  makes 
this  remark  at  page  57  :  — 

"  The  lives  of  extraordinary  men  are  the  text-books  of  all 
real  study  and  excellence,  the  charts  which  we  lay  down 
for  the  tract  of  virtue.  The  moral  instructions  which  in  the 
lives  of  statesmen  and  philosophers  are  obscure  and  tainted, 
are  in  the  lives  of  these  holy  men  deliberate,  clear,  and 
definite." 

He  then  begins  his  life  by  stating :  *  — 

"The  angelic  St.  Thomas,  the  seraphic  St.  Bonaven- 
TURE,  [of  whom  I  also  wish  to  speak  if  I  have  time]  are 
the  best  models  wherein  to  study  and  explain  that  system 
of  virtue  and  perfection  which  they  traced  in  their  works ; 
while  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori  is  celebrated  throughout  the 
world  for  his  theological  writings,  his  great  virtues,  his  ex- 
traordinary sanctity,  which  proved  how  close  was  the  con- 
nection between  the  wisdom  of  his  understanding,  and  the 
purity  of  his  heart." 

Next,  to  show  how  excellent  this  saint  was,  Cardinal 
Wiseman  says,  that  while  he  preached  a  discourse  upon  his 
favorite  subject,  the  patronage  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  from 
her  countenance  a  ray  of  light  like  the  sun  was  reflected 
upon  the  faces  of  all  present,  which  shows  that  the  winking 
of  the  Virgin  of  Rimini  is  not  at  all  a  novelty  in  the  expe- 
rience or  history  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  "  On  that  occa- 
sion many  persons  were  in  tears,  many  of  the  women  were 

*  See  Dr.  Wiseman's  Lives  of  the  Canonized  of  1839.    Dolman,  1846. 


THE   TEA.CHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  15 

seized  with  such  intense  sorrow,  that  they  mounted  them- 
selves upon  the  platform  at  the  preaching  of  the  saint,  and 
began  to  discipline  themselves  [that  is,  to  scourge  them- 
selves with  a  rod],  and  cry  aloud  for  mercy."  [p.  12.]  He 
states  in  another  passage  of  the  same  document,  that  "  the 
saint's  bread  was  black,  and  not  even  leavened,  through  the 
inexperience  of  his  lay  brethren.  This  miserable  food, 
which  he  ate  kneeling,  or  stretched  upon  the  ground,  they 
rendered  still  more  nauseous  by  sprinkling  over  it  some  bit- 
ter stuff,  and  many  of  them,  with  the  saint  among  them, 
licked  the  floor  with  their  tongues,  and  disciplined  them- 
selves three  times  in  each  week."  [p.  15.] 

Cardinal  Wiseman  here  gives  his  new  Westminster  sub- 
jects a  model  of  saintly  excellence.  I  might  justly  say  here, 
after  reading  this  model,  if  such  are  the  saints  of  the  Roman 
Church,  what  must  their  sinners  be ! 

He  states  in  the  next  place,  that  whilst  he  was  preaching 
on  the  patronage  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  exciting  his 
hearers  to  look  with  confidence  to  her,  again  a  miracle  was 
showed,  and  every  one  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears.  He  said 
"  Be  glad,  for  the  Virgin  has  granted  your  prayers."  Car- 
dinal Wiseman  says,  that  "  his  food  was  of  the  most  inferior 
kind,  and  he  sprinkled  it  with  wormwood  and  bitter  herbs. 
Such  was  his  severity  in  scourging  himself,  that  his  friends  j^ 
had  to  burst  open  his  door,  and  snatch  the  discipline  (a 
beautiful  canonical  name  for  the  scourge)  out  of  his  hands, 
fearing  he  might  cause  his  death."  [p.  317.]  Here  was  a 
saint  almost  a  suicide. 

He  then  states,  in  the  next  place,  that  St.  Alphonsus  saw 
the  Virgin,  and  adds  that  "  his  feelings  on  the  occasion  made  ^ 
him  compose  the  Glories  of  Mary." 

Then  he  enumerates  two  among  many  works  of  this  saint ; 
one,  the  "Moral  Theology,"  dedicated  to  Benedict  XIV., 
and  the  other  the  "  Glories  of  Mary."  I  have  the  "  Moral 
Theology,"  published  by  Mr.  Burns,  a  bookseller  recently 


16  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

perverted  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  being  once,  I  be- 
lieve, a  Scottish  Protestant,  then  becoming  an  Enghsh  one, 
then  a  Puseyite,  and  ultimately  a  Roman  Catholic.  These 
works  I  have  purchased  in  9  vols.  Being  thus  applauded 
by  the  Cardinal  Archbishop,  and  his  life  being  thus  men- 
tioned as  a  model,  and  his  doctrines  thug  inculcated  as  true, 
I  purchased  the  saint's  books,  and  have  spent  a  great  deal  of 
time,  —  more  perhaps  than  they  deserved,  except  for  the 
Cardinal's  visit,  —  in  making  extracts  from  them,  which 
must  help  to  prepare  Westminster  for  its  new  diocesan. 
This  "  Moral  Theology  "  contains,  first  of  all,  the  following 
statements :  — 

"  Scripturas  et  libri  controversia-  "  The  Scriptures  and  books  of 
rum  in  lingua  vernacula  non  permit-  controversies  may  not  be  permitted 
tantur,  sine  autem  permissione  legi  in  the  vernacular  tongue;  as  also 
non  possunt."  they  cannot  be  read  without  per- 

mission." 

In  other  words,  says  Liguori,  or  rather  Cardinal  Wise- 
man, his  echo,  the  Bible  must  not  be  permitted  to  you  in 
the  vernacular  tongue.  But  do  not  go  away,  my  hearers, 
as  some  Protestants  have  done,  and  say  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  denies  the  Bible  to  the  people.  She  does 
not  do  so.  She  will  allow  the  laborers  and  peasants  of  Eng- 
>4^1and  to  have  it  in  French,  the  French  to  have  it  in  Dutch, 
Dutchmen  in  Russian,  and  the  Russians  in  Hebrew  —  in 
any  language  you  like  except  the  one  you  understand.  Do 
not  then  say  that  Cardinal  Wiseman  denies  the  Bible  to  the 
people :  neither  he  nor  the  Church  of  Rome  does  any  such 
thing ;  they  will  allow  it,  provided  it  be  in  a  language  you 
do  not  understand  —  that  is  all. 

I  proceed,  however,  to  quote  illustrations  yet  more  so- 
cially mischievous  from  the  teaching  of  Cardinal  Wiseman ; 
and  if  he,  or  any  priest  or  Romish  bishop  in  the  room,  is 
dissatisfied  with  what  I  say,  let  him  meet  me  and  settle  the 
question  upon  this  platform.     My  charges  are  either  utterly 


THE   TEACHING   OP   CARDINAL    WISEMAN. 


17 


damaging  to  Cardinal  Wiseman's  teaching,  or  they  are  un- 
true. I  am  not  speaking  rashly :  I  do  not  present  extracts 
I  have  picked  up  from  sources  that  have  not  been  explored* 
I  have  gone  to  the  original,  and  I  quote  page,  and  chapter, 
and  verse,  of  what  Cardinal  Wiseman  holds,  and  comes  to 
teach.  I  will  read  first  Cardinal  Wiseman's  illustrations  of 
Lying. 


"  Interim  vero,  etsi  licitum  non  est 
mentiri,  seu  simulare  quod  non  est, 
licet  tamen  dissimulare  quod  est, 
sive  tegere  veritatem  verbis,  aliisve 
signis  ambiguis  et  indifferentibus,  ob 
justam  causam,  et  cum  non  est  ne- 
cessitas  fatendi.  Est  Comm.  S. 
Thom.  Kon.  dis.  15.  dub.  2.  n.  9. 
Layra.  1.  2.  t.  i.  c.  11." 


"  Notwithstanding,  indeed,  al- 
though it  is  not  lawful  to  lie,  or  to 
feign  what  is  not,  however  it  is  law- 
ful to  dissemble  what  is,  or  to  cover 
the  truth  with  words,  or  other  ambi- 
guous and  doubtful  signs,  for  a  just 
cause,  and  when  there  is  not  a  ne- 
cessity of  confessing.  Est  Comra. 
S.  Thom.  Kon.  dis.  15.  dub.  2.  n.  9. 
Laym.  1.  2.  t.  i.  c.  11."  [Vol.  2.  B. 
8.  ch.  3.  p.  116.] 


Then  he  says,  in  the  next  place :  — 


"  Cum  non  rogaris  de  fide,  non 
solum  licet,  sed  saspe  melius  est  ad 
Dei  honorem,  et  utilitatem  proximi, 
tegere  fidem  quam  fateri ;  ut  si  latens 
inter  hajreticos  plus  boni  facias ;  vel 
b\  ex  confessione  plus  mali  scquere- 
tur,  verbi  gratia,  turbatio,  neces,  ex- 
acerbatio  tyranni,  periculum  de- 
fectionis,  si  torquereris.  XJnde  teme- 
rarium  plenimque  est  offerre  se  ultro. 
S.  Th.  Sanch.  Laym.  c.  11.  n.  2." 


"  His  positis,  certum  est  et  com- 
mune apud  omnes,  quod  ex  justa 
causa  licitum  sit  uti  cequivocatione 
modis  expositis,  et  eam  juramento 
firmare.    Ita  Less.  1.  2.  c.  41.  n.  47. 

2* 


"  When  you  are  not  asked  con- 
cerning the  faith,  not  only  is  it  law- 
ful, but  it  is  often  more  conducive  to 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  utility  of 
your  neighbor,  to  cover  the  faith 
than  to  confess  it;  for  example,  if 
concealed  among  heretics  you  may 
accomplish  a  greater  amount  of 
good ;  or,  if  from  the  confession  of 
the  faith  more  of  evil  would  follow — 
for  example,  disturbance,  death,  the 
irritation  of  a  tyrant,  danger  of  de- 
fection, if  you  should  be  tortured: 
whence  it  is  often  hazardous  to  offer 
one's  self  uncalled  for.  S.  Th. 
Sane.  Laym.  c.  11.  n.  2."  [Vol.  2. 
ch.  3.  p.  117.] 

"  These  things  being  settled,  it  is 
a  certain  and  a  common  opinion 
among  all  divines,  that  for  a  just 
cause  it  is  lawful  to  use  equivocation 
in  the  modes  propounded,  and  to 


18  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Card.  diss.  19.  n.  35.  Salm.  tr.  17.  confirm  it  (equivocation)  with  an 
de  Juram.  cap.  2.  n.  115.  ex.  S.  oath.  Less.  1.  2.  c.  41.  n.  47.  Card. 
Hieron.  c.  22.  q.  2."  diss.  19.  n.  35.     Salm.  tr.  17.  de  Ju- 

ram. cap.  2.  n.  115.  ex.  S.  Hieron.  c. 
22.  q.  2."  [Vol.  2.  B.  4.  treat.  2.  p. 
316.] 

There  was  a  recent  discussion  in  the  papers  about  leaving 
out  the  prajer  for  the  Queen  in  Roman  Catholic  Missals 
and  Churches.  Dr.  UUathorne,  who  has  lately  been  en- 
throned as  the  bishop  of  Birmingham,  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Times,  in  which  he  denied  every  thing  that  had  been 
asserted  on  the  subject.  He  has  perplexed  and  puzzled 
you,  but  not  cleared  himself.  When  you  read  Dr.  UUa- 
thorne's  letter,  just  compare  what  he  urges  as  explanations 
with  the  extracts  which  I  have  given  from  Liguori,  authen- 
ticated by  Cardinal  Wiseman,  stating  that  among  heretics, 
when  a  greater  amount  of  good  can  be  accomplished,  it  is 
perfectly  lawful  to  equivocate,  and  to  conceal  the  truth,  and 
to  confirm  the  equivocation  by  an  oath. 

In  the  next  place,  it  is  said  by  Liguori,  whose  doctrines 
are  authenticated  by  Cardinal  Wiseman,  and  accepted  by 
every  Roman  Catholic:  — 

"  Hinc  infertur,    L    Confessarius  "  Hence  it  is  inferred,  first,  that  a 

afiirmare  potest  etiam  juramento  se  confessor   can    declare,  even  upoD 

nescire  peccatum  auditum  in  con-  oath,  that  he  does  not  know  a  sin 

fessione,  subintelligendo  ut  hominem,  heard  in  confession,  by  understand 

non    autem    ut    ministnim    Chrisii,  ing  as  man,  not  as  the  minister  of 

ut  decent  S.  Th.  2.  2.  9.  70..    Art.  1.  Christ,  as  St.  Thomas,  2.  2.  9.  70. 

ad.  1.  Lug.  disp.  22."  art.  1.  ad.  1.     Lug.  disp.  22  teach.'* 

[Ibid.  319.] 

"  Et  si  quis  temere  petat  a  confes-  "And  if  any  one  rashly  should 

sai'io,  an  audierit  tale  peccatum  in  inquire  of  a  confessor  whether  he 

confessione,  bene  potest  respondere :  may  have  heard  such  a  sin  in  con- 

Non  audivi,  scilicet  ut  homo,  vel  ad  fession,  he    can  rightly  answer,   / 

manifestandum.     Card,  cum  Lug.  n.  have  not  heard  it,  that  is  to  say,  as  a 

66."  man,  or  for  the  purpose  of  making  it 

Jcnoivn.     Card,  cum  Lug.  n.  66." 

"  Sed  satis  probabiliter  Lugo  de  "  But  probably  enough  Lugo  do 

Just.  d.  40.  n.  15.  Tamb.  lib.  3.  c.  4.  Just.  d.  40.  n.  15.    Tamb.  lib.  8.  c. 


THE   TEACHING   OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN. 


19 


§  3.  n.  5.  cum  Sanch.  Viva  q.  7.  art. 
4.  n.  2.  Sporer  de  Praec.  c.  1.  num. 
13.  item  Klbel  diet.  num.  144.  Card, 
in  Propt.  Innoc.  XI.  diss.  19.  num. 
78.  cum  Nav.  Less.  Sa.  et  Fill,  et 
aliis  pluribus  dicunt,  posse  reum,  si 
sibi  immineat  paena  mortis,  vel  car- 
ceris,  aut  exilii  perpetui,  amissiouis 
omnium  bonorum,  triremium,  et 
similis,  negare  crimen,  etiam  cum 
juramcnto  (saltem  sine  peccato 
gravi),  subintelligendo,  se  iwii  com- 
mlsisse  quaienus  teneatur  illadfaleri^ 
mode  sit  spes  vitandi  poenam." 


"  Qui  mutuum  accepit,  sed  postea 
satisfecit,  potest  negare,  se  accepisse 
mutuum,  subintelligens,  ita  ut  debeai 
solvere.  Salm.  n.  140.  et  Sporer  de 
2.  Price,  c.  1.  n.  122.  cum  Suar. 
Nav.  Az.  Laym.  Sanch.  Gov.  et 
aliis." 

"  Qui  venit  de  loco  falso  putato 
infecto,  potest  negare  se  venire  ex 
illo,  scilicet  ut  i)^siilenti^  quia  haec 
est  mens  custodum.  Salm.  n.  141. 
Less.  cup.  42.  n.  47.  Sanch.  Dec. 
lib.  3.  cap.  6.  n.  85,  et  Sporer,  loc. 
sit.  n.  140.  cum  Tol.  Nav.  Suar. 
Henr.  Rod.  etc." 

"  Si  quis  invitatus  interrogetur  an 
sit  bonus  cibus  qui  revera  sit  insipi- 
dus, potest  respondere  esse  bonum, 
scilicet,  ad  mortificationem.^^ 


4.  §  3.  n.  5.  cum  Sanch.  Viva  q.  7. 
art.  4.  n.  2.  Sporer  de  Prsec.  c.  1. 
num.  13.  item  Elbel  diet.  num.  144. 
Card,  in  Propt.  Innoc.  XI.  diss.  19. 
num.  78.  cum  Nav.  Less.  Sa.  et  FiU. 
with  many  others,  say,  that  the  ac- 
cused, if  threatened  with  death,  or 
imprisonment,  or  perpetual  exile, 
the  loss  of  all  property,  the  galleys, 
and  such  like,  can  deny  the  crime, 
even  with  an  oath  (at  least  without 
great  sin),  by  understanding  that  he 
did  not  commit  it,  so  that  he  is  hound 
to  confess  it,  only  let  there  be  a  hope 
of  avoiding  the  punishment.' '  [  Vol. 
2.  p.  34.] 

"  He  who  has  accepted  a  loan,  but 
has  afterwards  returned  it,  can  deny 
that  he  received  the  loan,  under- 
standing so  as  thai  he  ought  to  2>ay  it. 
Salm.  n.  140.  et  Sporer  de  2.  Praic. 
c.  1.  n.  122.  cum  Suar.  Nav.  Az. 
Laym.  Sanch.  Co  v.  and  others." 
[Ibid.  322.  j 

"He  who  comes  from  a  place 
falsely  supposed  infectious,  can  deny 
that  he  came  from  that  place,  to  wit, 
as  from  a  pestilent  place,  because 
this  is  the  mind  of  the  cordon  sani- 
taire.  Salm.  n.  141.  Lcs.  cap.  42. 
n.  47.  Sanch.  Dec.  lib.  3.  cap.  6.  n. 
35.  et  Sporer,  loc.  sit.  n.  140.  cum 
Tol.  Nav.  Suar.  Ilonr.  Rod.  etc." 

"If  any  one  invited  to  dine,  is 
asked  if  the  food  which  is  in  fact 
unpalatable  be  good,  he  can  answer, 


It  is  good,  to  wit, /or  moi-tijication.^* 

I  have  noticed  that  in  Ireland  criminals  who  have  suffered 
the  penalty  of  death  for  murders  perpetrated  by  them  in 
their  country,  have  in  their  last  moments  stoutly  denied 
their  guilt.  This  is  very  frequent.  Recollect  to  place  this 
fact  in  juxtaposition  with  the  authorized  teaching  of  Cardi- 
nal  Wiseman.      A    woman    guilty   of    adultery   is   asked 


20  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

whether  she  is  guilty,  and  if  the  sin  sacramentally  was 
taken  away,  she  can  answer :  "  No,  I  am  innocent  of  this 
crime,"  because  it  was  taken  away  by  confession.  [Ibid. 
323.] 

I  have  heard  that  in  the  west  end  of  London,  as  I  suppose 
in  the  west  ends  of  other  towns,  certain  masters  who  do  not 
wish  to  receive  certain  visitors,  instruct  their  servants  to 
say,  "  Not  at  home."  Let  me  just  say,  that  such  is  one  of 
the  domestic  pioneers  of  Cardinal  Wiseman.  It  is  early 
initiation  in  Popish  habits.  If  you  teach  Popery  to  your 
domestics,  do  not  be  surprised  that  Cardinal  Wiseman  comes 
to  teach  it  to  your  parishioners  in  Westminster. 

"  Quaeritur,  5,  An  famulus  ex  "  It  is  asked,  5,  —  Whether  a  ser- 
jussu  doraini  possit  negare  ipsum  vant,  by  the  order  of  his  master  can 
esse  domi.  Card.  diss.  19.  n.  75.  deny  that  he  [the  master]  is  at 
admittit  ipsum  posse  fingere  pedem  home.  Card.  diss.  19.  n.  75.  admits 
in  lapide,  et  respondere,  iV^o?i  esi /«c;  that  he  can  feign  his  master's  foot 
quia  non  est  restrictio  mentalis:  sed  on  the  step,  and  answer,  He  is  not 
huic  non  asseutior,  si  alter  nuUo  her-e,  because  it  is  not  mental  restric- 
modo  possit  id  advertere.  Potius  tion;  but  to  this  I  do  not  assent,  if 
concederem,  eum  posse  dicere,  Non  the  other  can  by  no  means  under- 
est  Jiic,  scilicet  non  in  hac  janua,  vel  stand  that.  Rather  I  would  concede 
fenestra;  vel  (ut  ait  Tourn.  Mor.  that  he  can  say, //e  is  ?zoi  Aerc,  that 
torn.  i.  pag.  689).  Nan  est  Mc  qua-  is  to  say,  not  in  this  door  or  window^ 
tenus  videri  possit.  Item  ait  Carden,  or,  (as  Tourn.  Mor.  tom.  i.  pag.  689,) 
posse  eum  respondere.  Egressus  e  He  is  not  here  so  as  that  he  may  be 
domo  est,  intelligendo  in  prceterito;  seen.  Also  Carden  says  that  he  can 
non  enim  tenemur,  ait  cum  Less,  ut  answer  that  he  has  departed  from  the 
supra,  respondere  ad  mentem  inter-  house,  by  understanding  a  departure 
rogantis,  si  adsit  justa  causa."  which  took  place  in  some  time  past; 

for  we  are  not  bound,  he  says,  with 
Lessius,  as  above,  to  answer  to  the 
mind  of  him  that  interrogates,  if 
there  is  a  just  cause."    Ibid.  525. 

Let  me  now  allude  to  the  subject  of  oaths,  which  are  the 
vincula  of  our  social  system;  which  may  be  reformed, 
which  may,  as  some  say  (though  I  doubt  it),  be  done  away 
with,  but  which,  if  perverted,  contaminated,  and  vitiated, 
must  lead  to  interminable  and  incalculable  mischief. 


THE   TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN. 


21 


"It  is  certain  that  if  you  trans 
gress  only  some  small  part  of  what 
you  have  sworn,  it  is  not  a  grievous 
sin:  for  example,  if  you  have  sworn 
that  you  would  not  drink  Avine,  you 
did  not  sin  mortally  in  drinking  a 
very  little,  (Sanch.  t.  1.  lib.  4.  c.  32, 
n.  21,)  because  then  the  smallness 
of  the  matter  excuses;  and  thus 
they  are  excused  who  swear  to  ob- 
serve the  statutes  of  some  chapter, 
college,  university,  etc.,  if  after- 
wards they  violate  the  statutes  in 
some  small  way.  And  we  say  the 
same  concerning  sworn  public  regis- 
trars and  other  ministers  of  justice; 
as  also  concerning  him  who,  from 
the  sum  which  he  swore  that  ho 
would  give  to  another  should  sub- 
tract only  a  little.  Navar.  Suar. 
Sanch.  Vide  Laym.  Bon.  p.  13. 

"  Probably  you  are  obliged  by  a 
promissory  oath,  although  it  may  be 
extorted  from  you  by  injury  and 
fear,  9S  if,  forgetting  to  use  equivo 
cation,  you  promised  to  robbers  to 
give  booty,  or  usury  to  usurers." 

"  Nevertheless,  make  an  exception 
if  you  have  sworn  to  Titias  to  marry 
her ;  for  in  that  case  you  can  forsake 
her,  and  enter  a  religious  order :  be- 
cause the  oath  regards  the  nature  of 
the  act  to  which  it  pertains ;  but  in 
the  promise  of  matrimony  there  is 
this  tacit  condition,  unless  I  enter  a 
reliyious  order J'^  See  Laym.  c.  6. 
Bon.  d.  4.  q.  1.  p.  3.     [Ibid.  p.  337.J 

So  that  any  gentleman  who  has  made  a  vow  to  marry  a 
lady,  has  only  to  turn  monk  to  escape  all  the  responsibility 
of  that  vow.  If  he  goes  into  a  convent,  he  has  a  "  dispen- 
sation," according  to  the  theology  of  Alphonsus  Liguori,  for 
his  dishonesty  and  lying.  Speaking  of  oathi  it  is  again 
said:  — 


"  lUud  certum  est  quod,  si  ex  eo 
quod  jurasti,  tantummodo  parum 
aliquid  non  serves,  non  sit  grave:  v. 
gr.  si  jurasti  te  non  bibiturum  vi- 
num,  non  peccas  raortaliter  parvum 
bibendo,  (Sanch.  t.  1.  lib.  4.  c.  32.  n. 
21.)  quia  tunc  excusat  parvitas  ma- 
teriae;  et  sic  excusantur,  qui  jurant 
servare  statuta  alicujus  capituli,  col- 
legii,  univcrsitatis,  etc.  si  postea 
parvum  aliqiiod  statutum  violent. 
Et  idem  dicimus  de  tabellionibus 
juratis  et  aliis  ministris  justitiae;  ut 
de  eo  qui  ex  summa  quam  alteri  se 
daturum  jurasset,  parvum  tantum 
detraheret.  Navar.  Suar.  Sanch. 
Vide  Laym.  Bon.  p.  13. 


"  Obligaris  probabiliter  juramento 
promissario,  etsi  extortum  a  te  sit 
per  injuriam,  ac  metum :  ut  si  obli- 
tus  uti  equivocatione,  jurasti  prae- 
donibus  dare  lytrum,  usurario  usu- 
ram." 

"Excipe  tamen,  si  jurasses  Titiae 
eam  ducere :  nam  eo  casu  potes,  ea 
relicta,  ingrcdi  religionem;  quia  ju- 
ramentum  sortitur  naturam  actus, 
cui  apponitur;  promissioni  autem 
matrimonii  hsec  tacita  conditio  in- 
est,  nisi  ingrediar  reliyionem.  Vide 
Laym.  c.  6.  Bon.  d.  4.  q.  1.  p.  3." 


22 


THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


"  Talia  juramenta  verius  relaxa- 
tione  non  indigent,  quum  de  se  sint 
nulla,  juxta  dicta  n.  177.  v.  Alitcr. 
Etsi  taraeu  essent  valida,  ab  ecclesia 
relaxari  possunt.  Salm.  ibid.  n.  6. 
cnra  Sanch.  Pal.  L.  Guitier.  No- 
mine autem  Ecclesise  veniunt  non 
solum  Pontifex,  sed  etiam  episcopi, 
capituli  sedibus  vacantibus,  et  alii 
jurisdictionem  episcopalem  haben- 
tes,  ut  Salm.  n.  7.  et  8.  et  etiam  con- 
fessarii." 


"Pontifex  irritare  potest  omnia 
juramenta  circa  beneficia  ofBcia  ec- 
clesiastica." 


"  Such  oaths  truly  do  not  need 
relaxation,  since  they  are  of  them " 
selves  null  and  void,  in  accordance 
with  what  is  said  in  n.  177.  v.  Aliter. 
However,  let  them  be  ever  so  valid, 
they  can  be  relaxed  by  the  Church. 
Salm.  ibid.  n.  6.  cum  Sanch.  Pal. 
et  Guitier.  But  in  the  name  of  the 
Church  ai*e  included  not  only  the 
Pope,  but  also  bishops,  chapters,  the 
episcopal  seat  being  vacant,  and 
others  having  episcopal  jui'isdiction, 
as  Salm.  n.  7.  and  8.  and  also  con- 
fessors." 

"  The  Pontifex  can  render  null 
and  void  all  oaths  respecting  bene- 
fices and  ecclesiastical  offices." 

In  reference  to  the  Fourth  Commandment,  Liguori  states, 
or  rather  Cardinal  Wiseman  by  his  mouth :  — 

"  Sed  urget  magna  oppositio,  vide-  "  But  a  great  objection  stands  in 

licet :  prseceptum  Sabbati  erat  certe  the  way ;  viz.  the  command  of  the 

naturale  et  morale;  nam  ideo  inter  Sabbath  was  certainly  natural  and 

Decalogi  prascepta  numeratum  fuit :  moral,  for  on  that  account  it  was 

ergo  dominica  quas  sabbato  substi-  numbered  amongst  the  precepts  of 

tuta  fuit,   etiam   de  jure  naturali,  the  Decalogue;  therefore  the  Lord's 


sive  divino  est.  Eespondetur,  quod 
licet  sit  de  jure  divino  et  naturali, 
ut  designetur  aliquod  tempus  deter 
minatum  ad  Deum  colendum,  deter- 


day,  which  was  substituted  for  the 
Sabbath,  is  also  either  of  natural 
or  divine  right.  It  is  answered, 
that  although  it  be   of   divine   and 


minatio  tamen  hujus  cultus,  et  die-  natural  right,  some  determinate 
rum,  quibus  conferendus  erat,  fuerit  time  should  be  allotted  for  the  wor- 
a  Christo  depositioni  Ecclesias  re-  ship  of  God;  however,  the  deter- 
licta ;  ita  ut  possit  tunc  Papa  decer-  mination  of  that  worship,  and  of 
nere  ut  observantia  dominicse  dura-  the  days  in  which  it  was  to  be 
ret  tantum  per  aliquas  horas,  et  quod  offered  up,  have  been  left  to  the 
licerent  aliqua  opera  servilia,  ut  arrangement  of  the  Church,  so  that 
dicit  Salm.  diet.  n.  38."  the  Pope  can  decree  that  the  ob- 

servance of  the  Lord's  day  should 
continue  only  for  a  few  hours,  and 
that  certain  servile  works  would  be 
lawful  as  Salm.  diet.  n.  38." 
He  sajs,  again :  — 

"  Unde,  si  filius  sentiat  se  a  Deo        "  Hence,  if  a  son  thinks  that  he  is 
vocatum  ad  religiosum  vel  clerica-    called  to  a  religious  or  clerical  state, 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN. 


23 


lem  statum,  et  advertat  parentes  in- 
juste  impedituros,  consultius  aget 
rem  iis  celando,  divinamque  volunt 
tatem  exequendo." 

"  Ex  his  omnibus  concluditur,  non 
solum,  non  peccare  filios  religionem 
assumentes,  parentibus  incousultis: 
sed,  ordinarie  loquendo,  valde  er- 
rare,  si  participes  eos  faciant  de  sua 
vocatione,  ob  periculum  cui  se  ex- 
ponunt,  quod  sint  ab  ilia  avertendi. 
Et  hoc  utique  confirmatur  ab  exem- 
plo  tot  sanctorum,  quorum  disces- 
8us,  parentibus  insciis,  aut  invitis, 
Deus  etiam  miraculis  approbavit,  et 
benedixit.  Idemque  scntit  doctus 
P.  Elbel  de  Praecept.  n.  358.  dicens: 
'  Si  filius  sentiat  se  a  Deo  vocatum 
ad  statum  religiosum,  et  advertat 
parentes  id  aegre  laturos  atque  ex 
affectu  carnali  ac  futilibus  motivis 
se  opposituros,  non  tcnetur  iis  con- 
sulere,  quia  consullius  aget  rem  eis 
celando.' " 


and  supposes  that  his  parents  would 
unjustly  impede  him,  he  conducts 
the  business  more  advisedly,  by  con 
cealing  it  from  them,  and  by  follow 
ing  the  divine  will." 

"  From  all  these  authorities  we 
conclude,  that  not  only  do  children 
not  sin,  who  enter  a  religious  state 
without  consulting  their  parents; 
but,  generally  speaking,  they  err 
very  much,  on  account  of  the  dan- 
ger to  which  they  expose  themselves 
of  being  averted  from  it,  if  they  con- 
sult with  them  concerning  their  own 
call.  And  this,  verily,  is  confirmed 
by  the  example  of  so  many  saints, 
whose  departure,  the  parents  being 
unconscious  or  unwilling,  God  ap- 
proved and  blessed  even  by  mira- 
cles; and  the  learned  P.  Elbel,  de 
Praicept.  n.  538,  thinks  the  same 
thing,  saying:  'If  a  son  thinks  that 
he  is  called  to  the  religious  state, 
and  considers  that  the  parents  would 
bear  it  grievously,  and  that  they 
would  be  opposed  to  it  from  a  car- 
nal affection  and  groundless  motives, 
lie  is  not  bound  to  consult  them,  be 
cause  he  conducts  the  matter  more 
advisedly  in  concealing  it  from 
them.' " 


Then,  on  the  subject  of  theft,  the  following  sentiments  are 
taught :  — 


"  Si  quis  ex  occasione  tantum  fu- 
retur,  sive  uni,  sive  pluribus,  modi- 
cum, non  intendens  notabile  aliquid 
acquirere,  nee  proximo  graviter  no- 
cere,  singulis  furtis  non  peccat  gra- 
viter, neque  ea  simul  sumta  unum 
mortale  constituunt;  postquam  ta- 
men  ad  quantitatem  notabilem  per- 
venerit,  eam  detinendo  mortaliter 
peccare  potest.    Verum  et  hoc  mor- 


"  If  any  one  on  an  occasion  should 
steal  only  a  moderate  sum  either 
from  one  or  more,  not  intending  to 
acquire  any  notable  sum,  neither  to 
injure  bis  neighbor  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, by  several  thefts,  he  does  not 
sin  grievously,  nor  do  these,  taken 
together,  constitute  a  mortaj  sin; 
however,  after  it  may  have  amounted 
to  a  notable  sum  by  detaining  it,  he 


24 


THE    GREAT    ArOSTASY. 


tale  evitabit,  si  vel  tunc  restituere 
lion  possit,  vel  animura  liabeat  paulo 
post  restituendi  ea  saltern  qua?  tune 
accipit."    [Vol.  3.  p.  256.] 


"  Quer.  II.  Si  furtula  qiios  simul 
ad  magnara  quantitatem  perveniunt, 
sint  facta  diversis  dominis  certis,  an 
fur  teueatur  sub  culpi  gravi  eis  res- 
titutionem  facere,  vel  an  satisfaclat 
debita  ilia  pauperibus  distribuendo. 
Ex  una  parte,  Videtur  dicendum 
sub  gravi  restitutionem  faciendam 
esse  dominis,  nisi  excuset  periculum 
famse  amittendoe  vel  gravissimura 
damnum  aut  incommodum."  [Vol. 
3.  p.  257.] 

"  Unde  videtur,  quod  sufficienter 
fur  satisfaciet  suae  gravi  obligationi 
ex  prsesumpto  consensu  reipublicjB, 
si  i-estituat  pauperibus,  aut  locis 
piis,  qui  sunt  egentiores  reipublicae 
partes."     [Ibid.  p.  258.] 


can  commit  mortal  sin,  but  even 
this  mortal  sin  may  be  avoided,  if 
either  then  he  be  unable  to  restore, 
or  have  the  intention  of  making  res- 
titution immediately  of  those  things 
which  he  then  received." 

"  Query  II.  If  small  thefts  which 
together  amount  to  a  large  sum,  be 
made  from  various  known  masters, 
whether  a  thief  be  bound  under 
great  blame  to  make  restitution  to 
them,  or  whether  he  may  satisfy  by 
distributing  them  to  paupers?  On 
the  one  hand  it  appears  that  a  resti- 
tution should  be  made  to  the  origi- 
nal possessors,  unless  the  danger  of 
losing  fame,  or  very  grievous  loss,  or 
inconvenience  excuse." 

"  Whence  it  appears  that  a  thief 
may  have  rendered  sufficient  satis- 
faction to  his  own  weighty  obliga- 
tion from  the  presumed  consent  of 
the  republic,  if  he  make  restitution 
to  paupers,  or  pious  places  which 
are  the  more  needy  parts  of  the  re- 
public." 


Speaking  of  the  examination  of  parties  suspected  or  ac- 
cused of  crimes  (I  am  now  showing  what  would  be  the 
courts  of  justice  which  our  new  Pontifical  governor  will  set 
up  in  Westminster),  he  says:  — 


"  Demum  si  reus  fatetur  delictum, 
proceditur  ad  sententiam:  si  non, 
proceditur  ad  eum  convincendum, 
vel  ad  torturam,"  [Vol.  5.  p.  144.] 

"  Quia  tortura  instituta  est  ad 
subsidiura  probationis,  quando  ar- 
guments et  indicia  sunt  valde  effi- 
cacia,  ut  sic  plena  probatio  elicia- 
tur."    [Ibid.  p.  146.] 

"  Sed  dicendum  omnes  ad  denun- 
tiationem  teneri  ex  eadem  ratione 
ut  supra,  quia  heresis  est  pestis  ita 
noxia,    quod    difficile  habet  reme- 


"  Finally,  if  the  accused  confess 
his  crime,  the  sentence  is  to  be  giv- 
en: if  not,  he  is  to  be  led  to  convic- 
tion or  the  torture." 

''  Because  torture  is  a  help  to 
proof,  when  arguments  and  signs 
are  very  efficacious,  that  tlius  a  full 
proof  may  be  elicited." 

"But  all  are  bound  to  denounce 
for  the  same  reason  as  above,  be- 
cause heresy  is  so  noxious  a  pest 
that  it  may  require  a  severe  remedy, 


THE    TEACHING   OP   CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  25 

dium,  et  facile  in  damnum  vergit    and  very  easily  it  may  tend  to  the 
commune."     fibid.  p.  84.J  common  loss." 

These  are  but  meagre  extracts  from  a  work  which  con- 
tains instructions  in  one  volume  so  revolting  that  their  infa- 
my is  their  only,  and  to  the  English  public,  their  imperisha- 
ble, protection. 

Are  not  these  doctrines  which  I  have  quoted  subversive 
of  all  social  confidence  —  of  all  domestic  happiness  —  of  all 
national  peace  ?  Yet  these  are  the  elements  of  the  teaching 
of  Liguori,  and  by  fair  construction  of  Cardinal  Wiseman. 

I  will  now  give  you  some  specimens  of  the  worship  taught 
by  this  saint,  and  recommended  by  Cardinal  Wiseman. 
You  have  had  the  moral  doctrines  that  are  to  regulate  our 
social  intercourse;  here  is  the  sort  of  worship  Cardinal 
Wiseman  intends,  I  presume,  to  set  up  in  the  new  Cathedral 
of  Westminster ;  it  is  taken  from  a  document  approved  by 
four  Pontiffs,  applauded  by  Cardinal  Wiseman,  circulated 
among  Roman  Catholics,  and  well  known  to  every  member 
of  that  church,  —  "  the  Glories  of  Mary,"  *  by  the  same  St. 
Liguori,  from  which  I  will  give  you  the  following  extracts : 

"  *  From  the  moment  that  Mary  consented  to  become  the 
Mother  of  God,'  says  Saint  Bernardine  of  Sienna,  *  why 
should  not  the  Mother  enjoy  conjointly  with  the  Son  the 
honors  of  royalty  ?  *  Mary  is  then  Queen  of  the  Universe, 
since  Jesus  is  its  King;  thus,  as  Saint  Bernardine  again 
observes, '  As  many  creatures  as  obey  God,  so  many  obey 
the  glorious  Virgin,  every  thing  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
which  is  subject  to  God  is  also  under  the  empire  of  his  most 
holy  Mother.' 

"  *  Reign,  O  Mary,'  says  the  Abbot  of  Gueric,  *  dispose  at 
pleasure  of  the  goods  of  your  Son,  power  and  dominion  be- 
long to  the  Mother  and  spouse  of  the  King  of  kings.' 

*  This  little  book  is  published  in  various  editions,  at  sixpence  and  a 
shilling  each,  by  the  Eomish  booksellers,  and  ahnost  on  every  page  these 
and  worse  specunena  of  idolatry  occur. 
3 


26  TIIK    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

"  She  is  queen  of  mercy  alone ;  slie  is  a  sovereign,  not  to 
punish  sinners,  but  to  pardon  and  forgive  them.  Writing 
on  those  words  of  the  Psalmist,  '  I  have  learned  two  things, 
power  belongs  to  Grod,  and  mercy  to  the  Lord,'  Gerson  ob- 
serves, that  as  the  kingdom  of  God  consists  in  mercy  and 
justice,  the  Lord  has,  as  it  were,  divided  it,  reserving  to 
himself  the  dominion  of  justice,  and  yielding  to  his  Mother 
that  of  mercy. 

''  Saint  Bernard,  asking  the  question,  why  the  church 
calls  Mary  Queen  of  Mercy  ?  answers  it  himself  by  saying, 
it  is  because  she  opens  at  pleasure  the  abyss  of  the  divine 
mercy,  so  that  no  sinner,  however  enormous  his  crimes  may 
be,  can  perisli  if  he  is  protected  by  Mary. 

"  Let  us  go,  then,  Christians,  let  us  go  to  this  most  gra- 
cious Queen,  and  crowd  aroimd  her  throne,  without  being 
deterred  by  our  crimes  and  abominations.  Let  us  be  con- 
vinced that  if  Mary  has  been  crowned  Queen  of  mercy,  it  is 
in  order  that  the  greatest  sinners  may  be  saved  by  her  inter- 
cession, and  form  her  crown  in  heaven. 

"  If  to  evince  the  love  of  God  the  Father  for  men,  it  is 
said,  that  he  delivered  up  his  own  Son  for  them,  may  we 
not  use  the  same  terms  to  express  the  love  of  Mary  ?  '  Yes,' 
says  Saint  Bonaventure,  '  Mary  has  so  loved  us,  that  she  has 
given  us  her  only  Son : '  '  she  gave  him  to  us,'  says  F.  Nie- 
remberg,  *  when,  in  virtue  of  her  jurisdiction  over  him  as 
mother,  she  permitted  him  to  deliver  himself  up  to  the  Jew^s  ; 
she  gave  him  for  us  when  she  silently  listened  to  his  accus- 
ers witiiout  saying  a  word  in  his  defence,  though  there  -was 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  advocacy  of  a  mother  so 
wise  and  prudent  would  have  made  a  strong  impression,  at 
least  on  Pilate,  who  was  already  conscious  of  the  innocence 
of  Jesus ;  in  fine,  she  has  given  us  this  well-beloved  Son  a 
thousand  times  during  the  three  hours  she  spent  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross.'  SS.  Anselm  and  Antoninus  even  assert,  that 
to  accomplish  the  will  of  the  eternal  Father,  she  would,  de- 


THE    TEACHING    OP    CARDINAL    ^WISEMAN.  27 

spite  of  natural  tenderness,  have  immolated  him  with  her 
own  hands.  For  if  Abraham  was  so  obedient,  how  much 
more  so  was  Mary ! 

"  St.  Bernardine  of  Sienna  asserts,  that  if  God  has  not 
destroyed  man  after  his  sin,  it  was  in  consideration  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  out  of  the  singular  love  he  bore  her ;  he 
even  doubts  not,  that  all  the  mercies  granted  to  sinners  in 
the  old  law  have  been  given  in  consideration  of  Mary. 

"  The  glorious  St.  Bonaventure,  to  animate  our  confidence 
in  Mary,  represents  to  us  a  raging  sea,  in  which  sinners, 
already  fallen  from  the  vessel  of  divine  grace,  are  tossed 
about  by  the  billows  of  temptation,  torn  by  the  gnawings  of 
remorse,  and  horrified  by  the  terrors  of  divine  justice,  with- 
out light  or  guide,  are  ready  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the  gulf 
of  despair ;  but  just  then  the  Lord  shows  them  ISIary,  the 
star  of  the  sea,  and  seems  to  say  to  them.  Sinners !  unfortu- 
nate sinners  !  despair  not,  fix  your  eyes  on  this  brilliant 
luminary,  its  lustre  will  save  you  from  the  tempest,  and  con- 
duct you  to  tlie  port  of  salvation. 

"  Mary  presents  herself  between  God  and  his  offending 
creatures:  *and  no  person  is  so  fit,' says  Bonaventure,  ' to 
avert  the  sword  of  divine  wrath  and  indignation.'  Richard, 
of  St.  Lawrence,  also  observes  on  this  subject,  that  in  the 
old  law,  God  often  complained  that  there  was  none  to  inter- 
pose between  him  and  sinners,  but  since  Mary,  the  Media- 
trix of  peace,  has  appeared  on  earth,  she  restrains  his  arm, 
and  averts  his  wrath." 

Then  I  find  the  following  prayer  addressed  to  the  Virgin 
Mary :  — 

*•  O  purest  of  Virgins !  I  venerate  your  most  holy  heart, 
which  is  the  delight  of  the  Lord,  the  sanctuary  of  purity  and 
humility,  the  abode  of  divine  love.  My  heart,  which  I  pre- 
sent to  you,  is  of  clay ;  sin  has  therein  made  most  dreadful 
wounds :  Mother  of  mercy,  cure  it,  sanctify  it,  refuse  not 
your  pity  to  him  for  whom  Jesus  has  not  refused  his  blood." 


28  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

"  O  Mary,  our  faithful  mediatrix !  Virgin  full  of  grace ! 
Ladder  of  Jacob !  Gate  of  heaven !  Treasury  of  divine 
grace !  May  all  Christians  honor  you  with  all  their  hearts ; 
to  use  the  beautiful  expression  of  St.  Bernard,  and  cling  to 
you  with  the  utmost  fidelity.  Let  us  implore  grace,  but  let 
us  do  so  through  you ;  in  fine,  let  us  present  to  God  through 
your  sacred  hands,  all  the  prayers  and  good  works  in  our 
power,  if  we  desire  that  this,  our  incense,  may  be  acceptable 
to  the  Lord." 

"  Happy  are  they  who  know  you,  O  mother  of  God," 
says  Bonaventure,  "  for  to  know  you  is  the  way  to  eternal 
life,  and  to  celebrate  your  praise,  is  the  high  road  to 
heaven." 

Liguori  says :  — 

"  We  read  in  the  Chronicles  of  St.  Francis,  that  brother 
Leo  once  saw  in  a  vision,  two  ladders ;  one  red,  at  the  sum- 
mit of  which  was  Jesus  Christ ;  and  the  other,  white  ;  at  the 
top  of  which  presided  his  blessed  mother.  He  observed, 
that  many  who  endeavored  to  ascend  the  first  ladder,  after 
mounting  a  few  steps,  fell  down  ;  and  on  trying  again,  were 
equally  unsuccessful,  so  that  they  never  attained  the  sum- 
mit; but  a  voice  having  told  them  to  make  trial  of  the 
white  ladder,  they  soon  gained  the  top ;  the  blessed  Virgin 
having  held  forth  her  hands  to  help  them." 

"  Wherefore  all  of  you  who  will  have  life  eternal,  serve 
and  honor  Mary ;  for  she  is,  as  it  were,  the  bridge  of  salva- 
tion, which  God  has  prepared  for  us,  in  order  to  pass  se- 
curely over  the  troubled  waters  of  this  life." 

I  ask  you,  if  such  sentiments,  authorized  by  Cardinal 
Wiseman,  do  not  substantially  teach  that  it  is  easier  to  get 
to  heaven  by  the  Virgin  Mary,  than  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  ?  I  by  the  Virgin  do  not  say  that  he,  in  his  creed  or 
theory,  supersedes  Christ,  but  I  do  hold,  that  practically  in 
the  worship  he  authorizes  he  does  so.  We  Protestants 
need  not  the  Virgin,  or  any  of  the  saints  of  heaven  to  assist 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  29 

US ;  if  they  were  to  proffer  their  services,  we  could  answer, 
and  answer  emphatically,  that  we  can  well  do  without  them. 

It  is  recorded  of  Alexander  the  Great,  the  Macedonian 
conqueror,  that  he  one  day  visited  Diogenes,  the  Cynic  phi- 
losopher, who  was  basking  in  his  tub  in  the  sunshine.  It  is 
stated  that  Alexander  was  so  impressed  with  the  moderation 
and  simplicity  of  the  Cynic,  that  he  said  to  him,  "  Tell  me 
what  I  can  give  to  you.  Any  thing  you  want,  to  the  third 
of  my  kingdom,  shall  be  at  your  service."  AYhat  was  the 
answer  of  the  philosopher  ?  "  Please  your  majesty,  stand 
aside  from  between  me  and  the  sunbeams.  That  is  the  only 
favor  I  have  to  ask."  So  I  would  say,  if  the  Virgin  Mary 
or  the  most  illustrious  saint  in  glory  were  to  come  down  in 
all  the  splendor  of  the  beatific  vision,  and  ask,  "  What  is  the 
greatest  favor  I  can  do  for  you?"  my  answer  would  be, 
"  Stand  aside,  that  I  may  bask  in  the  beams  of  that  Sun  of 
righteousness  who  has  risen  with  healing  under  his  wings, 
and  who  alone  can  save  those  who  come  to  him." 

There  are  frequently  quoted  in  the  writings  of  Liguori, 
and  in  the  opening  part  of  his  life  recommended  by  Cardi- 
nal Wiseman,  the  sayings  of  St.  Bonaventure,  a  saint,  a 
cardinal,  and  doctor.  I  have  by  me,  what  I  purchased  about 
ten  years  ago,  the  Psalter  of  Bonaventure,  a  very  scarce 
one  written  in  the  black  letter.  It  is  extremely  valuable, 
and  supposed  to  be  some  three  hundred  years  old.  In  this 
document,  of  which  Cardinal  Wiseman  approves,  Bonaven- 
ture has  expunged  from  every  psalm  the  name  Lord,  God, 
and  substituted  for  it  the  name  of  Mary,  or  Virgin  Mary 
or  Lady.  Thus  we  have,  "  Come  unto  Mary,  all  ye  that 
are  heavy  laden,  and  she  will  give  you  rest."  In  the  95tli 
Psalm,  wnich  is  used  in  the  English  Liturgy  every  morning, 
it  is  written,  "  O  come,  let  us  sing  unto  our  Lady,  let  us 
heartily  rejoice  in  the  Virgin,  who  brings  us  salvation.  Let 
us  come  before  her  presence  with  thanksgiving  and  let  us 
be  glad  in  her  with  Psalms."  In  another  Psalm  we  have, 
3* 


30  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

*'  Let  Mary  arise,  and  let  her  enemies  be  scattered."  Again 
this  Bonaventure,  for  wliom  there  is  a  collect  in  Cardinal 
Wiseman's  Missal,  and  whose  writings  the  Cardinal  recom- 
mends to  us,  has  taken  the  magnificent  Te  Deum,  —  which 
is  not  the  monopoly  of  the  Church  of  England,  for  it  was 
composed  before  that  Church  was  established,  but  the 
privilege  and  the  possession  of  all,  for  it  is  more  ancient 
than  us  all,  —  he  has  taken  that  beautiful  anthem,  and  has 
thus  translated  it :  "  We  praise  thee,  O  Mary !  we  acknowl- 
edge thee  to  be  the  Virgin.  All  the  earth  doth  worship 
thee,  spouse  of  the  Eternal.  To  thee  angels  and  archangels 
cry,  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  art  thou,  Mary  mother  of  God," 
and  so  on  to  the  end.  Remember,  Cardinal  Wiseman  says 
this  is  a  teacher  whose  lessons  you  ought  to  study.  And  as 
if  this  were  not  enough,  Saint  Bonaventure  has  taken  the 
Litany  and  altered  it  in  the  following  manner :  "  Be  merci- 
ful to  us,  spare  us,  good  Lady,  from  the  wrath  of  God." 
"  In  all  time  of  our  tribulation ;  in  all  time  of  our  wealth ; 
in  the  hour  of  death,  and  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  from 
the  torments  of  the  damned.  Deliver  us,  good  Mary."  Such 
is  the  Psalter  of  Saint  Bonaventure.  And  to  show  that  this 
Psalter  is  not  an  ancient  and  obsolete  document,  I  quote  not 
only  Cardinal  Wiseman's  published  and  emphatic  approval 
of  its  author,  not  only  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori's  frequent 
extracts  from  it,  as  from  an  authority,  but  I  have  myself 
ten  editions  of  the  Psalms  of  Bonaventure,  of  which  1  have 
given  a  specimen  extracted  from  it ;  the  first  published  in 
1834  under  the  sanction  of  Gregory  XVI.,  and  the  last 
published  in  1844,  only  a  short  time  before  Gregory  XVI. 
was  taken  to  his  account.  In  this  Psalter,  pubhshed  in  the 
Italian  language,  very  cheap  and  plainly  for  popular  use, 
the  Psalms  are  thus  blasphemously  perverted. 

I  have  stated  at  the  commencement  of  my  remarks,  that 
my  object  was  not  to  attempt  to  give  you  sunshine,  but  to 
submit  to  you  facts.     I  have  now  told  you  what  Cardinal 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  31 

Wiseman  holds,  what  he  is  bound  to  teach,  and  what  he  is 
not  ashamed  to  avow  in  his  writings.  It  is  not  merely 
because  his  tenets  are  false  that  I  expose  them,  but  because 
they  are  fraught  with  great  social  mischief.  I  trust  that 
this  will  lead  you  not  to  detest  the  man,  but  to  shrink  with 
horror  from  the  principles  he  teaches.  My  strong  convic- 
tion, however,  is,  that  the  Pope  has  made  a  grievous 
blunder,  infallible  as  he  is,  by  his  recent  appointment,  a 
blunder  nevertheless  he  cannot  repair.  It  must  cleave  to  him 
and  he  to  it  inseparably.  Pope  Pius  IX.  felt  the  pulse  of 
the  Protestantism  of  England,  and  because  it  was  calm  he 
thought  it  was  weak,  because  it  was  quiet  he  thought  it  was 
indifferent;  he  imagined  or  was  informed  it  was  so  dead 
that  Old  England  would  bear  a  Cardinal.  He  will  find  in 
six  weeks  that  England  will  not  even  bear  a  monk ;  and  if 
I  may  judge  from  the  manly  spirit  exhibited  in  the  Prime 
Minister's  letter,  and  from  the  mettle  of  the  people,  she  will 
not  long  bear  even  a  Puseyite.  This  appearance  of  a 
cardinal  in  our  capital  has  been  like  the  appearance  of  the 
French  flotilla  off  Boulogne  in  former  days  —  the  one 
aroused,  it  could  not  increase,  the  loyalty  of  England,  the 
other  has  stirred  its  latent  Protestantism  to  its  very  depths. 
It  is  plain  enough  that  another  result  of  the  Cardinal's 
presence  will  be  the  utter,  though  unintended,  rout  of 
Puseyism  and  Puseyites  in  all  their  shades.  We  have  now 
the  real  thing  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  the  sham  thing  will 
not  be  able  to  hold  up  its  head  beside  it.  If  the  compara- 
tive merits  of  the  two  Churches  are  to  be  tested  by  splendor 
of  ritual,  by  gorgeousness  of  robes,  by  sensuous  grandeur 
of  service,  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  has  only  an  exterior 
and  material  glory,  will  beat  us.  Saint  Barnabas  in  the 
West  will  grow  pale  and  be  utterly  swallowed  up  amid  the 
splendors  of  Saint  George's  Cathedral  in  the  Borough.  It 
is  well.     The  comedy  of  Oxford  is  passing  into  the  tragedy 


32  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

of  Westmiixster.  If  we  are  to  have  Popery  at  all,  let  us 
have  Italian  Popery  under  the  Italian  flag,  not  Italian 
Popery  under  the  flag  of  Old  England.  This  importation, 
I  solemnly  believe,  will  do  much  to  unite  us  all.  We 
needed  it.  I  can  speak  for  my  own  beloved  Church  —  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  She  has  moved  in  sympathy  with  that 
Church,  Admiral  Harcourt,  of  one  of  whose  noblest  prelates 
you  are  a  son.  I  tell  the  Churchmen  in  this  room,  they 
cannot  afford  to  do  without  the  sound  evangelical  Dissenters 
in  England  ;  and  I  tell  the  Dissenters  in  this  room,  (and  I 
rejoice  that  Mr.  Binney  has  told  them  thoroughly  so,)  that 
they  cannot  afford  to  part  with  the  sound  and  evangelical 
section  of  the  Church.  You  may  depend  upon  it,  that  a 
crisis  is  coming  that  will  demand  the  combined  fiiithfulness 
and  efforts  of  all.  Cardinal  Wiseman  claims  Dissenters 
and  Churchmen  both  as  his  "  subjects."  It  is  time  for  both 
to  look  about  them. 

I  may  just  add,  as  I  pass  along,  the  very  remarkable  fact, 
that  the  Pope  has  parcelled  out  England,  but,  strange  to  say, 
he  has  not  yet  meddled  with  Scotland.  Whether  it  was  that  the 
Pope  thought  it  was  too  hot  for  the  Cardinal,  I  do  not  know. 
I  suspect  John  Knox  did  more  good  there  than  you  give  him 
credit  for ;  and  the  time  may  come  when  a  John  Knox  will 
be  wanted  in  England,  to  lift  up  his  voice  like  a  trumpet,  not 
against  beautiful  churches,  which  he  never  assailed,  but 
against  Popish  interference  and  superstition,  which  he 
warred  with  to  the  death.  God  gives  martyrs  just  when 
martyrs  are  required.  I  expect,  every  day,  however,  to 
hear  of  an  irruption  of  the  Roman  militia  into  Scotland 
also. 

Let  us  all  unite  in  righteous  resistance.  All  the  sections 
of  the  Protestant  Church  differ  only  in  ceremonial  details, 
and  agree  in  all  that  is  vital,  permanent,  and  precious.  All 
our  churches  are  trees,  the  planting  of  the  Lord.     Each 


THE   TEACHING    OF    CARDINAL    WISEMAN.  33 

grows  best  in  its  own  native  soil ;  but  their  branches  wave 
in  the  same  unsectarian  air,  their  fruit  ripens  in  the  same 
cathoHc  sun,  and  their  roots  blend  with  each  other  in  the 
soil  beneath,  invisible  but  not  unknown  to  us,  and  all  cohere 
with  the  roots  of  the  tree  of  life  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
paradise  of  God.  Let  us,  then,  be  brethren  in  arms,  rivals 
only  in  renown ;  forget  not  that  part  of  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don's letter  to  the  Westminster  clergy,  where  the  Bishop 
states  with  great  force  and  great  truth,  that  the  Pope  is  not 
the  centre  of  unity,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  accept  the 
Bishop's  definition  of  unity.  In  the  church  of  Rome  they 
will  forgive  you  all  differences,  if  you  will  cleave  to  the 
chair  of  St.  Peter,  and  look  to  the  Pope.  In  the  Protestant 
church  we  must  learn  to  forgive  all  minor  differences,  on 
condition  that  all  behold  "the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world."  They  honor  an  earthly,  we  a 
heavenly  head. 

You  may  depend  upon  it,  and  I  speak  to  all  parties,  uni- 
formity is  not  God's  will,  but  unity  truly  and  eternally  is. 
Uniformity  a»tailor  can  produce  by  cutting  all  our  coats 
alike,  but  unity  the  living  God  alone  can  produce  by  chang- 
ing all  our  hearts  alike.  So  it  is  in  nature.  If  I  were  to 
take  Cardinal  Wiseman's  plan  of  making  Westminster  at 
one  with  Rome,  I  would  go  out  some  fine  autumn  to  a  forest, 
and  take  an  axe  with  which  I  would  chop  every  tree  into 
the  form  of  a  beautiful  cone.  Then  I  would  invite,  like  the 
Cardinal,  all  heretics  to  come  and  see  what  a  splendid  speci- 
men of  sylvan  uniformity  I  had  created  in  this  disorderly 
forest  After  I  had  done  so,  and  retired  for  some  six  months, 
I  would  go  back  in  the  season  of  "  leafy  June,"  taking  my 
friends  with  me  to  show  them  the  perpetuity  of  my  splendid 
specimen  of  sylvan  uniformity ;  but,  to  my  horror  and  to 
their  surprise,  every  tree  has  shot  forth  its  branches  at  its 
own  "  sweet  will,"  and  burst  into  all  sorts  of  shapes,  in  all 


34  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

directions.  Tiie  only  trees  that  are  as  I  left  them  are  the 
dead  ones.  Wherever  there  is  life  there  will  be  unity  but 
no  uniformity ;  wherever  there  is  death  there  will  be  perfect 
uniformity,  but  no  unity.  Let  us  then  melt  our  common 
quarrels  and  disputes  in  the  coming  crisis ;  let  us,  preferring 
each  our  own  ecclesiastical  communion,  all  cooperate  heartily 
in  protesting  against  the  daring  intrusion  of  Rome,  and  in 
holding  fast  Protestant  and  vital  Christianity.  I  believe  this 
invasion  will  do  much  good  in  furthering  this ;  it  will  coerce 
into  one  those  that  would  scarcely  be  conciliated ;  it  will  re- 
veal points  of  unsuspected  contact  —  and  render  audible  too 
long  latent  harmonies.  I  protest  as  a  loyal  subject  against 
the  presence  of  this  chartered  representative  of  the  Pope, — 
a  foreign  ruler,  neither  our  monarch,  nor  the  Queen's  sub- 
ject,—  against  this  apportionment  of  England  as  of  a  colony 
of  the  Pope  of  Rome  —  against  this  assumption  of  preroga- 
tives that  belong  to  our  Queen  ;  against  this  resumption  of  a 
jurisdiction  long  ago  forfeited  by  the  crimes  of  the  Papacy, 
and  repudiated  by  the  constitution  of  our  country;  and  I 
say  it  becomes  every  Protestant  in  England  to  feel  and 
shout,  "  Down  with  the  tiara,  and  up  with  the  crown,  and  if 
possible,  higher  still." 

I  deprecate,  as  the  Prime  Minister  has  said,  the  senti- 
ments and  example  of  those  gentlemen  who,  like  Mr.  Deni- 
son,  whose  letter  has  appeared  in  the  Times,  entertain  a  far 
intenser  horror  of  what  is  so  healthy  in  these  days,  State 
control,  but  feel  so  indifferent  to  the  presence  of  a  Cardinal 
who  carries  in  his  bosom  the  principles  of  Liguori  or  Bona- 
venture,  and  in  his  pocket,  perhaps,  other  ammunition  of  a 
still  more  combustible  kind.  If  it  is  to  be  the  mere  inter- 
pretation of  a  document  (I  do  not  speak  of  defining  doctrine) 
I  would  prefer  the  Privy  Council  to  any  General  Council 
that  has  sat  for  the  last  thousand  years ;  and  if  we  are  to  be 
under,  as  we  must  be,  a  governor,  let  us  have,  in  preference 


THE    TEACHING    OF    CAHDIXAL    WISEMAN.  35 

to  the  impudent  intruder  Pius  IX.  or  to  any  of  the  infant 
Holinesses  he  is  training  in  England,  the  sway  of  our  most 
gracious,  our  most  Protestant  Queen. 

I  protest,  too,  let  me  say,  —  and  it  comes  with  more  pro- 
priety from  me,  —  against  the  atrocious  assumption  of  the 
Pope  in  ignoring  the  Church  of  England.  He  assumes  that 
England  is  a  heathen  country,  that  we  have  had  no  religion 
for  the  last  300  years  :  and  so  indoctrinated  are  his  subjects, 
that  "  The  Catholic  Standard,"  a  Romish  weekly  newspaper 
in  London,  speaks  of  the  *'  Protestant  Bishop  of  London,  and 
the  Protestant  clergy,"  and  of  "  liis  grace  the  Archbishop  and 
the  clergy  of  Westminster ; "  contrasting  most  favorably  in 
another  article,  "  the  Heresiarch  of  Canterbury,"  with  his 
"Eminence  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Westminster."  I 
say  all  this  is  ignoring  the  Church  of  England.  But  if  there 
be  a  church  under  heaven  —  and  I  say  it,  having  nothing  to 
fear  and  nothing  to  expect  from  it  —  if  there  be  a  church 
under  heaven  signalized  by  the  possession  of  splendid  Prot- 
estant scholarship,  and  from  whose  mines  we  must  all  dig 
and  draw  up  enriching  ore,  it  is  the  Protestant  Church  of 
this  country.  It  has,  I  believe,  more  faithful  ministers,  if 
unfortunately  many  unfaithful,  by  its  altars  in  1850,  than  I 
believe  it  has  had  in  any  previous  period.  The  ignoring 
such  a  church  is  the  ignoring  of  the  first  church  in  Christen- 
dom, and  so  the  ignoring  of  us  all ;  and  the  indignation  we 
feel,  as  the  Prime  Minister  has  said,  should  exceed  far  any 
alarm  that  we  have  upon  the  subject. 

But  my  weightiest  protest  is  not  that  the  Pope  has  ig- 
nored the  Church  of  England,  but  that  Rome  ignores  the 
Church  of  Christ.  My  most  solemn  reason  of  protest  is 
not  that  he  has  insulted  by  his  usurpation  our  most  gracious 
Queen,  but  that  the  Church  of  which  the  Pope  is  head  has 
dishonored  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  My  main  charge  against 
him  and  his  cardinals  and  priests,  while  I  do  no  not  forget 


86  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

his  usurpation  of  English  rights,  is  that  they  inculcate  doc- 
trines which  must  defile  the  purity  of  our  firesides,  disturb 
the  whole  texture  of  social  life,  and  shed  a  tarnish  on  the 
glory  of  Him  whose  glory  it  is  our  first  duty  to  seek,  and 
ought  to  be  our  last  efiTort  to  defend.  I  hope  this  daring, 
this  insulting  attempt,  will  create,  kindle,  and  deepen  still 
more  throughout  England,  a  flame  of  sacred  and  enthusias- 
tic antipathy  to  the  principles  of  Rome.  I  say,  enthusiasm, — 
I  don't  mean  fanaticism.  Fanaticism  is  never  inspired  by 
hate,  enthusiasm  is  truth  inspired  by  love ;  fanaticism  would 
build  an  inquisition,  enthusiasm  built,  under  God,  the 
Church  of  the  Apostles:  fanaticism  is  like  the  rocket, 
which,  ascended  yesterday,  and  died  leaving  the  darkness 
denser ;  enthusiasm  is  like  those  subterranean  fires  in  south- 
ern lands,  to  be  detected,  not  by  their  volcanic  explosions, 
but  by  the  fertile  soil  and  the  golden  harvests  that  appear 
above  them.  Let  us  have  such  enthusiasm.  By  God's 
grace  we  will  fan  and  feed  it.  Depend  upon  it.  Admiral 
Harcourt,  the  time  is  come  w^hen  every  man  must  take  his 
place — everyone  is  now  coming  under  his  true  polarity. 
All  society  is  splitting  into  two  great  sections :  those  that 
are  with  Christ,  and  those  that  are  with  Antichrist.  By- 
and-by  there  will  be  but  two  churches  —  the  one  the  Apos- 
tasy, the  other  Christ's.  You  mast  learn,  as  I  have  told 
you,  to  forget  the  minor  things  in  which  w^e  differ,  and  to 
recollect  the  mightier  things  in  which  we  agree ;  we  must 
recollect  our  differences  are  small  even  when  magnified, 
and  that  our  points  of  coincidence  are  many  and  precious. 
Liberality,  not  latitudinarianism,  becomes  us  all,  and  is  the 
demand  of  the  day :  and  if  the  worst  come  to  the  worst  let 
there  be  reproach  to  our  names,  —  confiscation  to  our 
goods,  —  martyrdom  to  our  ministers ;  but  let  there  be  loy- 
alty to  our  Queen,  and  faithfulness  to  our  God.  A  great 
writer,  who  has  so  often  and  so  successfully  reflected  true 


THE   TEACHING    OP   CARDINAL   WISEMAN.  37 

English  feeling  in  his  magnificent  compositions,  —  magnifi- 
cent with  all  their  moral  faults,  —  makes  a  rojal  one  of  old 
say  to  one  Cardinal,  what  the  Queen  of  England  need  not 
hesitate  to  say  to  Cardinal  Wiseman :  — 

"  Thou  canst  not,  Cardinal,  devise  a  name 
So  slight,  unworthy,  and  ridiculous. 
To  charge  me  to  an  answer,  as  the  Pope. 
Tell  him  this  tale;  and  from  the  mouth  of  England 
Add  this  much  more,  —  that  no  Italian  priest 
Shall  tythe  or  toll  in  our  dominions." 


,tT 


LECTURE    II. 


CARDINAL  WISEMAN,  "  HIS    OATH,  AND  ITS    OBLIGATIONS.'* 


Let  me  begin  this  Lecture  bj  presenting  the  oath  taken 
by  Roman  Catholic  Bishops  and  Archbishops,  as  given  in 
every  edition  of  the  Pontificale  Romanum  : — 


"Ego  N.  Electus  Ecclesise  N.  ab 
hac  hora  in  autea  fidelis  et  obedieus 
ero  B.  Petro  Apostolo,  Sanctaeque 
Eomanse  Ecclesise,  et  Domino  nostro, 
Domino  N.  Papse  N.  suisque  suc- 
cessoribus  canonic6  intrantibus.  Non 
ero  in  consillo,  aut  consensu,  vel 
facto,  ut  vitam  perdant,  aut  mem- 
brum;  seu  capiantur  mala  captione; 
aut  in  eos  manus  quomodolibet  in- 
gerantur;  vel  injurias  aliquaj  infer- 
antur,  quovis  quajsito  colore.  Con- 
silium verb  quod  milii  credituri  sunt, 
per  se,  aut  Nuncios  suos,  seu  literas, 
ad  eorera  damnum,  me  sciente  nem- 
ini  pandara.  Papatum  Komanum  et 
Eegalia  Sancti  Petri  adjutor  eis  ero 
ad  defendendum  et  retinendum,  sal- 
vo meo  ordine,  contra  omnem  hom- 
inem.  Legatum  Apostolicse  Sedis 
in  eundo  et  redeundo  honorifice 
tractabo,  et  in  suis  necessitatibus 
adjuvabo.  Jura,  honores,  privilegia, 
et  auctoritatem  Sanctse  Romanae 
Ecclesioe,  Domini  nostri  Papee  et 
Successorum  prasdictorura  conser- 
vare,  defendere,  augere,  promovere 
curabo.  Neque  ero  in  consilio,  vel 
facto,  seu  tractatu  in  quibus  contra 
ipsum  Dominum  nostrum,  vel  ean- 


"L  N.  Elect  of  the  Church  of 
N.  from  henceforward  will  be  faith- 
ful and  obedient  to  St.  Peter  the 
Apostle,  and  to  the  holy  Roman 
Church,  and  to  our  Lord,  the  Lord 
N.  Pope  N.  and  to  his  successors 
canonically  coming  in.  I  will  nei- 
ther advise,  consent,  or  do  any 
thing  that  may  lose  life  or  member, 
or  that  their  persons  may  be  seized 
or  hands  anywise  laid  upon  thern, 
or  any  injuries  offered  to  them  un- 
der any  pretence  whatsoever.  The 
counsel  which  they  shall  intrust  me 
withal,  by  themselves,  their  messen- 
gers, or  letters,  I  will  not  knowingly 
reveal  to  any  to  their  prejudice.  I 
will  help  them  to  defend  and  keep 
the  Roman  Papacy,  and  the  Royal- 
ties of  St.  Peter,  saving  my  order, 
against  all  men.  The  Legate  of  the 
Apostolic  See,  going  and  coming,  I 
will  honorably  treat  and  help  in  his 
necessities.  The  rights,  honors,  priv- 
ileges, and  authority  of  the  holy 
Roman  Church,  of  our  Lord  the 
Pope  and  his  foresaid  successors,  I 
will  endeavor  to  preserve,  defend, 
increase,  and  advance.  I  will  not 
be  in  any  counsel,  action,  or  treaty, 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath. 


39 


dem  Romanara  Ecclesiam  aliqua 
sinistra  vel  procjudicialia  person- 
arum,  juris,  honoris,  status  et  po- 
tcstatis,  eorum  machinentur.  Et  si 
talia  a  quibuscunque  tractari  vel 
procurari  novero,  impediarn  hoc  pro 
posse,  et  quanto  citiiis  potero  signifi- 
cabo  eidem  Domino  nostro,  vel  alteri 
per  quem  possit  ad  ipsius  notitiam 
pervenire.  Regulas  Sanctorum  Pa- 
trum,  decreta,  ordinationes,  sou  dis- 
positiones,  reservationes,  provisiones 
et  mandata  Apostolica  totis  viribus 
observabo,  et  faciam  ab  aliis  obser- 
vari.  Haereticos,  Schismaticos  et  Re- 
belles  eidem  Domino  nostro  vel 
successoribus  pra;dictis  pro  posse 
persequar  et  impugnabo.  Vocatus 
ad  Synodum  veniam,  nisi  praepe- 
ditus  fuero  canonica  praepeditione. 
Apostolorum  limina  singulis  trien- 
niis  personaliter  per  me  ipsum  vis- 
itabo  et  Domino  nostro  ac  succes- 
soribus praefatis  rationem  reddamde 
toto  meo  pastorali  officio  ac  de  rebus 
omnibus  ad  meae  p]cclesiae  statum, 
ad  cleri,  et  populi  disciplinam,  anl- 
marum  denique  quae  meae  fidei 
traditae  sunt,  salutem  quovismodo 
pertinentibus,  et  vicissim  mandata 
Apostolica  humiliter  reciplam  et 
quam  diligentissime  exequar.  Quod 
si  legitimo  impedimento  detentus 
fuero  prsefata  omnia  adimplebo  per 
certum  Nuntium  ad  hoc  speciale 
mandatum  habentem  de  gremio  raei 
Capituli,  aut  aliura  in  dignitate 
Ecclesiastica  constitutum,  scu  alias 
personatum  habentem;  aut, his  mihi 
deficientibus,  per  diocesanum  Sacer- 
dotem;  et  clero  deficiente  omnino 
per  aliquem  alium  Presbyterum  sce- 
cularem  vel  regularem  spectatsB  pi*o- 
bitatis  et  religionis  de  supradictis 
omnibus  pleu6  instructum.   Da  hu- 


in  which  shall  be  plotted  against  our 
said  Lord,  and  the  said  Roman 
Church,  any  thing  to  the  hurt  or 
prejudice  of  their  persons,  right, 
honor,  state,  or  power;  and  if  I 
shall  know  any  such  thing  to  be 
treated  or  agitated  by  any  whatso- 
ever, I  will  hinder  it  to  my  power; 
and  as  soon  as  I  can  will  signify  it 
to  our  said  Lord,  or  to  some  other 
by  whom  it  may  come  to  his  knowl- 
edge. The  rules  of  the  Holy  Fathers, 
the  Apostolic  decrees,  ordinances  or 
disposals,  reservations,  provisions, 
and  mandates,  I  will  observe  with  all 
my  might,  and  cause  to  be  observed 
by  others.  Heretics,  schismatics, 
and  rebels  to  our  said  Lord  or  his 
foresaid  successors,  1  will  to  my  ut- 
most power  persecute  and  wage  war 
with.  I  will  come  to  a  Council  when 
I  am  called,  unless  I  be  hindered  by 
a  canonical  impediment.  I  will  by 
myself  in  person  visit  the  threshold 
of  the  Apostles  every  three  years; 
and  give  an  account  to  our  Lord  and 
his  foresaid  successors  of  all  my 
pastoral  office,  and  of  all  things  any- 
wise belonging  to  the  state  of  my 
church,  to  the  discipline  of  my 
clergy  and  people,  and  lastly  to  the 
salvation  of  souls  committed  to  my 
trust;  and  will  in  like  manner 
humbly  receive  and  diligently  exe- 
cute the  Apostolic  commands.  And 
if  I  be  detained  by  a  lawful  impedi- 
ment, I  will  perform  all  the  things 
aforesaid  by  a  certain  messenger 
hereto  specially  empowered,  a  mem- 
ber of  my  chapter,  or  some  other  in 
ecclesiastical  dignity  or  else  having 
a  parsonage;  or  in  default  of  these, 
by  a  priest  of  the  diocese;  or  in  de- 
fault of  one  of  the  clergy  (of  the 
diocese)  by  some  other  secular  or 


40  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

jusmodi  autcm  impedimento  docebo  regular  priest  of  approved  integrity 

per  legitimas  probationes  ad  Sanctse  and  religion,  fully  instructed  in  all 

Eomanae  Ecclesiae  Cardinalera  Pro-  things  above  mentioned.     And  such 

ponentem    in    Congregatione   Sacri  impediment  I  will  make  out  by  law- 

Concilii  per  supradictum  Nuntium  ful  proofs  to  be  transmitted  by  the 

transmittendas.     Possessiones  vero  foresaid  messenger  to  the  Cardinal 

ad  mensam  meam  pertinentes  non  proponent  of  the  holy  Roman  Church 

vendam,  nee  donabo  neque  impig-  in  the  congregation  of  the  Sacred 

norabo,  nee  de  novo  infeudabo  vel  Council.    The  possessions  belonging 

aliquo    modo    alienabo,  etiam  cum  to  my  table  I  will  neither  sell  nor 

consensu    Capituli    Ecclesiae   meae,  give  away,  nor  mortgage,  nor  grant 

inconsulto    Romano    Pontifice.     Et  anew  in  fee,  nor  anywise  alienate, 

si  ad  aliquam  alienationem  devene-  no  not  even  with  the  consent  of  the 

ro,  pcenas  in    quadam    super    hoc  chapter  of  my  church,  without  con- 

edita  constitutione  contentas  eo  ipso  suiting  the  Roman  Pontiff.     And  if 

incurrere  volo.     Sic  me  Deus  adju-  I  shall  make  any  alienation,  I  will 

vet  et  hiBc  Sancta  Dei  EvangeHa." —  thereby  incur    the    penalties    con- 

[De  consecratione  Electi  in  episco-  tained  in  a  certain  constitution  put 

pum.      Pontificale    Romanum,    pp.  forth  about  this  matter.    So  help  me 

59-61.    Antverpias,  1627.]     [Roraoe,  God    and   those   holy    Gospels    of 

1738,  vol.  1.  p.  178.]     And  [page  88,  God." 
edit.  Paris.  1664,  at  Cardinal  Wise- 
man's episcopal  residence.   Golden 
Square.] 

Owing  to  the  special  importance  of  the  subject  on  which 
I  am  now  to  enter,  especially  as  Cardinal  Wiseman,  who 
has  not  appeared  here  himself,  in  answer  to  my  invitation, 
has  sent  a  missive  which  I  will  read  in  your  hearing  by 
and  by,  I  have  to  request  that  the  reporters  who  are  present, 
and  the  auditors  who  are  listening,  will  notice  well,  and 
weigh  well,  the  ipsissima  verba  —  the  very  words  I  am  now 
about  to  use.  In  the  Times  newspaper  of  Monday  last,  to 
which  you,  Sir,  have  alluded,  I  read  a  report  of  a  sermon 
preached  by  Bishop  Doyle  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral 
in  South wark.     In  that  sermon  the  following  words  occur : 

"  Amongst  other  things  they  have  spoken  of  an  '  oath,' 
which  they  assert  every  Cardinal,  upon  his  appointment, 
takes  before  the  Sovereign  Pontiff." 

My  remark  upon  this  subject  will  be  best  understood  by 
my  reading  the  precise  words  that  I  employed  in  the  speech 


CARDINAL   WISEilAN's    OATH.  41 

which  I  delivered  here  at  our  last  meeting.  On  that  occasion 
I  said,  (p.  9,)  "  Let  me  presume,  that  when  the  Cardinal  was 
made  an  Archbishop,  he  received  the  pallium''  "  When  he 
received  the  pallium,  he  repeated  a  solemn  oath,  which  will 
be  found  in  the  Pontijicale  Romanum^'  Antwerp,  ]  627. 

Bishop  Doyle  says  that  the  statement  made  by  me  was 
that  every  Cardinal,  upon  his  appointment,  takes  a  certain 
oath.  My  statement,  however,  was  that  every  Archbishop  on 
receiving  the  pallium  takes  a  certain  oath.  A  Cardinal,  as  I 
explained  to  you  before,  is  a  temporal  othcer,  with  temporal 
prospects,  for  whose  consecration  the  Pontificiil  has  no  form, 
who  may  be  made  Pontiff  and  Sovereign  of  the  States  of  the 
Church  as  well  as  chief  Bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Com- 
munion. An  Archbishop  is  an  ecclesiastical  officer,  and  I 
stated,  not  as  if  I  had  been  a  witness  to  the  transaction  at 
Kome,  which  I  was  not,  but  speaking  on  the  documents  of 
that  Church,  authorized,  accredited,  signed,  supersigned,  of 
all  dates,  that  the  Archbishop  of  Westminster,  like  any  other 
Archbishop  of  the  Romish  Church,  on  receiving  the  pallium, 
must  have  repeated  the  oath  which,  as  a  Bishop,  when  first 
consecrated,  he  had  taken  before.  Bishop  Doyle  goes  on  to 
say :  — 

"  I  will  not  repeat  the  words  of  that  terrible  oath,  for  no 
doubt  you  have  all  read  it,  and  the  less  said  about  it  the  bet- 
ter ;  for  from  this  sacred  spot  I  declare  that  the  accusation 
is  a  falsehood.  No  such  oath  has  been  taken  by  his  Emi- 
nence. It  has  been  commented  upon  at  public  meetings,  and 
in  newspapers,  and  the  public  mind  has  been  thus  inflamed 
against  the  Roman  Catholics.  I  asked  the  Cardinal  all 
about  it.  The  very  first  words  I  addressed  to  him  were, 
'Now,  your  Eminence,  what  about  this  dreadful  oath?' 
His  answer  was,  '  No  such  oath  was  taken.* " 

Then  mark  what  follows :  "  There  is  an  oath  taken  by  a 
Bishop,  but  there  is  no  such  oath  taken  by  a  Cardinal.  Let 
me  inform  you  what  the  oath  taken  by  a  Bishop  is.  He 
4* 


42  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

promises  in  that  oath  to  pursue  and  combat  error,  and  to  up- 
hold the  sacred  doctrines  of  the  Church.  Surely  it  is  not  a 
dreadful  thing  to  swear  to  combat  error."  He  admits  here 
that  there  is  an  oath  taken,  in  which  oath  he  says  there  is  a 
clause  which  I  never  saw,  which  never  was  produced,  which 
never  ciyr  be  produced,  and  which  is  in  no  standard  what- 
ever of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  His  admission,  how- 
ever, is  a  catchword,  which  discloses  the  existence  of  the 
true  clause.  Then  he  goes  on  to  state  what  I  wish  you 
specially  to  notice :  - — 

"  They  talk  of  the  edict  of  Queen  Mary,  and  lay  it  at  the 
door  of  the  Catholic  clergy.  I  deny  that  it  is  true ;  and  I 
refer  our  detractors  to  that  history  which  they  so  W'ilfully 
pervert.  What  is  the  fact  with  regard  to  this  very  edict  of 
Queen  Mary  ?  And  now  that  I  may  presume  many  Protr 
estants  are  present,  let  me  impress  upon  them  the  justice  of 
paying  attention  to  what  I  am  about  to  state.  Now  the  true 
version  of  Queen  Mary's  edict,  in  connection  with  the 
Catholic  clergy,  is  this.  On  the  very  day  that  that  Edict 
was  sent  forth,  that  great,  and  good,  and  fearless  friar, 
Alphonzo  de  Castro,  when  he  preached  before  the 
Court,  in  the  presence  of  Her  Majesty,  denounced  it  as 
most  intolerant,  unjust,  and  in  every  degree  opposed  to  the 
glorious  principles  and  spirit  of  our  holy  religion.  That 
fearless  man,  in  the  name  of  the  Church,  denounced  the  acts 
of  Mary  as  opposed  to  the  Church.  And  it  is  the  same 
Church  now  as  in  the  day  that  De  Castro  defended  it  against 
the  acts  of  those  who  were  sinninoj  aojainst  it." 

I  will  speak  of  this  by  and  by ;  meantime  I  return  to  the 
oath.  First  of  all,  then,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Times  news- 
paper, in  w^hich  I  said,  "As  Bishop  Doyle  has  made  so 
explicit  a  disclaimer,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  write  to  you  what 
I  did  say.  The  words  I  used  were,  '  First  of  all,  let  me 
presume,  that  when  the  Cardinal  was  made  an  Archbishop, 
to  which  he  was  appointed  before  he  was  made  Cardinal,  he 
received  the  pallium,  and  repeated  a  certain  oath.' " 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  43 

Now,  if  you  heard  that  a  certain  individual  had  been 
made  a  Bishop  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  if  you  wished  to  know  what  he  said  and  pledged, 
what  would  you  do  ?  You  would  open  the  Prayerbook, 
and  read  the  Form  and  Order  for  the  Consecration  of 
Bishops,  and  you  would  say  that  if  any  Bishop  had  been 
consecrated  contrary  to,  or  in  the  omission  of  what  is  there 
authoritatively  enjoined,  there  would  be  wanting  in  that 
Bishop's  appointment,  or  in  that  Bishop's  consecration,  some- 
thing that  in  the  views  of  a  Churchman  was  essential,  and 
necessary,  and  dutiful)  I  quoted  then,  first  of  all,  the  Pon- 
tificale  Romanum,  puteli?hed  at  Antwerp ;  and  I  gave  you 
the  date  of  it,  1627.  To  be  perfectly  sure,  though  I  had 
no  doubt  of  it,  that  e.^^^ry  Pontijicale  Romanujn  was  a  fac- 
simile of  this,  I  procured  one  with  the  notes  of  Catalano. 
This  volume  which  I  hold  in  my  hand  is  one  of  the  three 
volumes  which  cost  sixteen  guineas.  It  is  called  the  Roman 
Pontifical,  or  that  book  according  to  which  every  Bishop 
must  be  consecrated,  every  Archbishop  receive  the  pallium^ 
every  Priest  be  ordained,  bless,  curse,  baptize,  and  excom- 
municate. It  is  the  Pontificale  Romamim,  as  revised  and 
issued  on  the  authority  of  two  Popes,  Clement  VIII.  and 
Urban  VIII. ;  having  the  valuable  illustrative  notes  of  Cat- 
alano, and  dated  Rome,  1738.  That  you  may  have  as  clear 
an  apprehension  as  possible  of  the  force,  weight,  and  value 
of  this  document  called  the  Roman  Pontifical,  I  will  read  a 
single  sentence  from  the  Constitution  of  Clement  VIII.  pre- 
fixed to  it :  — 

"  Statuentes  Pontificale  praedic-  *'  Determining  that  the  foresaid 
turn  nullo  umquam  tempore  in  toto  Pontifical  shall  not  at  any  time  be 
vel  in  parte  mutandum,  vel  ei  ali-  changed  in  whole  or  in  part,  that 
quid  addendum,  aut  omnino  detra-  nothing  shall  be  added  to  it,  and 
hendum  esse,  ac  quoscumque,  qui  nothing  be  subtracted  from  it,  and 
pontificalia  munera  exercere,  vel  that  all  those  who  ought  to  exercise 
alia  quae  in  dicto  Pontifical!  con-  pontifical  functions  or  other  acts 
tinentur,  facere,  aut  exequi  debent,  which  are  contained  in  this  Pontifi 
ad  ea  peragenda,  et  praestanda,  pal,  are  bound  to  perform  them  after 
ex  hujus  Pontificttlis  preescripto,  et    the  prescription  and  order  of  this 


44 


THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


ratione  teneri,  neminemque  ex  iis    Pontifical,  and  that  not  one  of  those 

quibus    ea    exercendi,    et    faciendi    on  whom  the  duty  devolves  of  per- 

munus  impositum  est,  nisi  formulis,    forming  these  offices  can  satisfy  the 

quas  hoc  ipso  Pontificali  continentur,    requirements  unless  in  the  formulas 

servatis    satisfacere  posse.      Omni-    which  are  contained  in  this  Pontifi- 

bus  igitur,  et  singulis   Patriarchis,    cal,"  etc.  etc. 

Archiepiscopis,   Episcopis,   Abbati 

bus,  et  ceteris  Ecclesiarum  Prelatis, 

necnon  aliis  quibuscumque  personis 

Ecclesiasticis,  secularibus,  et  regu 

laribus  iitriusque  sexus,  ad  quas  id 

spectat,  prascipimus  ac  mandamus, 

ut  omissis,  quae  sic  suppressimus,  et 

abolevimus,  ceteris  omnibus  Pontifi- 

calibus,  hoc  nostrum  in  suis  Eccle- 

siis,   Monasteriis,  Conventibus,  Or- 

dinibus,  Militis  Dioecesibus,  et  locis 

prsedictis  recipiant,  illoque  posthac 

perpetuo  utantur." 

I  turn  now  to  the  place,  (p.  236,)  in  which  an  account  is 
given  of  the  Pallium,  as  received  by  the  Archbishop.  It  is 
as  follows :  — 


"  Cum  Pallium  a  Sede  Apostolica 
mittitur,  Pontifex,  cui  res  ipsa  com- 
mittitur,  statuta  die  cum  Electo  con- 
venit  in  Ecclesia  sua,  si  commode 
fieri  potest  ;  vel  alia  Ecclesia  suae 
dioecesis,  vel  Provinciai  magis  com- 
moda,  in  qua  raissarum  solemnia 
peragantur.  Et,  facta  communione 
per  celebrantem  Pallium  reponitur 
supra  medium  Altaris  extensum,  et 
serico,  in  quo  involutum  portatum 
fuit,  coopertum.  Deinde  peractis 
Missarum  solemniis,  Pontifex  in- 
dutus  Amictu,  Stola  Pluviali,  et 
Mitra,  sedens  ante  Altare,  super 
faldistorio,  capit  juramentum  fi- 

DELITATIS    NOMINE     Scdis    ApOStol 

icffi,  ab  ipso  Electo,  omnibus  Pon 
tificalibus  ornamentis,  ac  si  cele 
braturus  esset,  Mitra  tamen  et 
chirothecis  demptis,  induto,  ante  se 
genuflexo,  juxta  formara,  per  lit 
teras  Apostolicas  traditauj," 


"  When  the  Pallium  is  sent  from 
the  Apostolic  See,  the  Pontiff  to 
whom  the  delivery  of  it  is  commit- 
ted, meets  Avith  the  elect  in  his  own 
church,  or  in  some  church  of  his 
diocese  on  a  fixed  day.  Then  the 
Pallium  is  spread  on  the  altar  cov 
ered  with  the  silk  in  which  it  was 
carried  to  Rome.  Mass  being  fin- 
ished, the  Pontiff  sitting  before  the 
altar  on  a  faldstool,  receives  the  oath 
of  fidelity  from  the  (Archbishop) 
elect,  in  the  name  of  the  Apostolic 
See  —  the  elect  kneehng  before 
him  in  his  pontificals,  and  without 
gloves." 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  45 

To  see  that  the  Archbishop,  on  receiving  the  pallium, 
takes  the  oath  exactly  as  it  is  given  in  the  Consecration  of 
a  Bishop,  I  turn  to  page  178,  to  which  I  am  referred.  The 
oath  is  there  given  at  full  length ;  and  in  it  is  the  clause 
which  I  quoted :  — 

"  Haereticos,  Schismaticos,  et  Reb-  "All  heretics,  schismatics,  and 
elles,  eidem  Domino  Nostro,  vel  rebels  against  the  same  our  Lord, 
successoribus  pra3(lictis,  pro  posse  or  foresaid  successors,  I  will  perse- 
PERSEQUAR  EX  iMi'UGNABO."  cute  and  attack  to  the  utmost  of  my 

power." 

Anxious  to  know  whether  I  had  translated  the  words 
aright,  I  opened  an  admirable  sermon,  preached  by  a  first- 
rate  man  upon  tliis  subject  —  Dr.  Wordsworth,  Canon  of 
Westminster.  He  gives  the  words  of  the  oath  as  follow : 
"  I,  Nicholas,  [applying  it  to  Archbishop  Wiseman,]  elect 
of  the  Church  of  Westminster,  to  the  utmost  of  my  power 
will  persecute  and  loage  war  with  heretics,  schismatics,  &c." 
I  have  been  charged  with  giving  too  strong  a  translation, 
but  Canon  Wordsworth,  than  whom  I  do  not  know  a  more 
able  scholar  on  this  subject,  translates  it  more  strongly  than 
I  do.  The  only  other  translation  I  know  of  is  that  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Burgess,  Rector  of  Chelsea,  who  said  that  it  ought 
to  be  translated,  in  order  to  enable  an  Englishman  to  under- 
stand it,  "  I  will  persecute  and  pitch  into."  * 

This  document,  this  Pontijicale  Romanum,  of  which  a  bull 
of  Urban  VIII.  says  that  nothing  is  to  be  added  to  it,  and 
nothing  to  be  subtracted  from  it,  and  if  any  one  do  either,  he 
fails  in  the  conditions  that  are  to  be  observed, — in  other 
words,  there  is  a  flaw  in  the  consecration,  or  a  fault  in  the 
appointment,  —  this  document  adds: — 

"  Jurtoiento  praestito,  Pontifex  "  The  oath  being  performed,  the 
surgit  cum  mitra,  et  pallium  de  Pontiff  rises  with  the  mitre,  and  he 
altari  accipit,  etc."  takes    the  pallium   from  the  altar 

and  puts  it  on  the  shoulders  of  the 

elect." 

*In  the  Roman  Jlissal  I  have  found  the  verb  "  persequar"  employed  at 
least  six  times,  and  in  every  instance  implying  persecution  by  violence. 


46  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

I  read  in  Cardinal  Wiseman's  Pastoral :  "  In  that  same 
Consistory  we  were  enabled  ourselves  to  ask  for  the  archie- 
piscopal  pallium  for  our  new  See  of  Westminster ;  and  tliis 
day  we  have  been  invested,  by  the  hands  of  the  Supreme 
Pastor  and  Pontiff  himself,  with  this  badge  of  metropolitan 
jurisdiction."  [A  Voice  :  "  What  is  a  pallium  ?  "]  A  pal- 
lium is  a  sort  of  robe,  which  an  Archbishop  receives,  woven 
of  wool  which  belongs  to  lambs,  presented  for  this  purpose 
by  certain  nuns  of  St.  Agnes,  on  the  feast-day  of  the  patron 
saint.  If  any  Roman  Catholic  wishes  for  an  explanation  of 
the  pallium  he  had  better  not  ask  for  it.  He  will  then  save 
himself  the  pain  of  hearing  of  the  puerility  that  cleaves  to 
too  many  of  the  ceremonies  of  his  Church. 

Have  I  not  shown  you  from  a  document  to  which,  as  in- 
fallibly declared,  nothing  is  to  be  added,  and  from  which 
nothing  is  to  be  subtracted,  that  the  Archbishop,  on  receiv- 
ing the  pallium,  (as  he  says  he  did  receive  it,)  had  to  make 
that  oath,  a  portion  of  which  I  have  read,  and  the  rest  of 
which  I  will  come  to  discuss  by  and  by  ? 

Now,  lest  it  should  be  supposed  that  I  had  quoted  from  an 
obsolete  work,  lest  also  it  should  be  supposed  that  the 
Church  may  have  changed,  I  set  out,  only  two  days  ago,  and 
after  search  I  found  and  bought  the  same  book,  the  Pontijt- 
cale  JRomanum,  in  three  vols,  dated  Mechlin,  1845.  I  opened 
this  book,  and  found  not  only  the  horrible  curse  which  I 
formerly  read,  but  also,  as  in  the  others,  that  the  Archbishop 
on  receiving  the  pallium  is  to  make  the  same  oath  precisely 
as  I  have  read  it.  And  I  find  prefixed  to  it  the  Bull  of 
Urban  VIII.  and  another  Bull  of  Benedict  XIV.  quoted  by 
Cardinal  Wiseman  in  his  defence  in  the  Times  newspaper 
of  yesterday.     Benedict  XIV.  says  in  his  Bull :  — 

"  This  our  Pontifical,  restored  and  reformed,  we  command 
[mark  the  words],  to  be  observed  by  all  the  churches  of  the 
world,  (Omnibus  universi  terrarum  orhis  ecclesiis,)  even  in 
exempt  places.     Resolving  that  the  aforesaid  Pontifical  is 


CARDINAL  "Wiseman's  oath.  47 

in  no  part  to  be  changed,  in  no  part  to  be  added  to,  in  no 
part  to  be  subtracted  from." 

I  have  shown  you  the  Antwerp  edition,  also  Catalano's 
edition  of  the  Pontifical,  with  the  Bull  attached  to  each ; 
and  I  have  now  shown  you  the  Pontifical  of  1845  published 
at  Mechlin,  with  almost  the  same  words,  only  more  stringent, 
prefixed  to  it.  I  find  from  all  these,  that  when  Archbishop 
Wiseman  received  the  Pallium^  he  had  to  repeat  the  oath  I 
have  mentioned  before  he  could  receive  it.  Then  what 
must  be  our  inference  from  all  this  ?  (The  books  are  open 
here,  and  on  the  table,  for  any  one's  inspection.)  That 
Cardinal  Wiseman,  if  there  be  any  truth  in  these  documents, 
if  there  be  any  authority  in  this  Pontifical,  did  swear: 
^^  HcereticoSy  schismaticos  et  rebelles,  Domino  Nostro,  vel 
successoribus  prcedictis^  pro  posse  persequar  et  impug- 

NABO." 

But  a  new  disclosure  is  now  to  come.  I  received  to-day 
a  letter,  dated  St.  George's  Cathedral,  Southwark,  with  a 
cross  prefixed  to  it,  and  signed  "  Francis  Searle,  Secretary 
to  Cardinal  Wiseman." 

"+  St.  George's,  Southwark,  Nov.  21,  1850. 

"  Sir,  —  The  accompanying  is  the  copy  of  a  letter  which 
I  took  myself  to  the  Times  printing  office  on  Tuesday  after- 
noon. It  has  not  been  inserted  in  the  number  of  either 
yesterday  or  to-day,  and  as  the  perusal  of  it  may  save 
you  some  trouble  this  morning,  I  take  this  means  of  bring- 
ing it  before  your  notice. 

"  I  am.  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  Servant, 

"  Francis  Searle, 
"  Secretary  to  Cardinal  Wiseman." 


48  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

«  To  the  Editor  of  the  Times. 

"  St.  George's,  Southwark,  Nov.  19th. 

"  Sir,  —  Dr.  Cumining,  in  his  letter  of  your  paper  of 
to-day  gives  an  extract  from  the  oath  taken  by  Bishops  and 
Archbishops  copied  from  the  Pontifical  printed  at  Antwerp 
in  1627,  and  states,  '  I  presume  that  Cardinal  Wiseman  on 
receiving  the  pallium  took  that  oath.'  To  prevent  further 
misunderstanding  I  have  the  Cardinal's  permission  to  state 
to  you  that  by  a  rescript  of  Pope  Pius  VII.,  dated  April  12, 
1818,  the  clause  quoted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  and  so  subject  to 
misunderstanding,  is  omitted  by  the  Bishops  and  Arch- 
bishops who  are  subject  to  the  British  Crown.  [This 
private  indulgence,  if  true,  shows  w^hat  is  the  repressive 
splendor  of  that  crown,  and  what  is  the  pressure  of  the 
opinions  of  the  subjects  of  that  crown,  even  on  the  habits 
and  doings  and  unchangeable  laws  of  Pome  itself] 

"  The  authorized  copy  now  lying  before  me  is  headed : 

"  *  Forma  Juramenti.' 

"  *  Pro  Episcopis  et  Vicariis  Apostolicis  Episcopali  dig- 
nitate  proeditis  qui  in  locis  Magnae  Britanniai  subjectis 
versantur,  prcescripta  a  SS.  Pio  P.  VII.  die  12  Aprilis, 
1818.' 

"  In  the  copy  of  the  Pontifical,  kept  at  the  Episcopal 
residence  in  Golden  Square  —  the  copy  perhaps  generally 
used  in  the  consecration  of  bishops  in  England  —  the 
sentence  is  cancelled." 

Is  not  this  strange?  Let  me  read  that  to  you  again. 
Englishmen  are  plain  matter-of-fact  men,  honest  men, 
strangers  to  shuffling,  especially  to  Popish  shuffling;  and 
we  must  have  plain  matter-of-fact  downright  statements. 
The  Cardinal  states:  — 

"  In  the  copy  of  the  Pontifical,  kept  at  the  Episcopal 
residence  in  Golden  Square  —  the  copy  perhaps  (!)  gen- 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  49 

ERALLY  (!)  used  in  the  consecration  of  bishops  in  England 
—  the  sentence  is  cancelled." 

Perhaps!  Does  he  not  hnow  all  about  the  Romish 
bishops  of  England?  What  a  sleepy  archbishop  not  to 
know  what  his  bishops  are  doing !  What !  an  archbishop 
to  go  and  consecrate  bishops,  and  not  know  whether  thej 
have  taken  the  oath  or  not !  What !  an  archbishop,  with  a 
Pontifical  that  he  dares  not  subtract  from,  that  he  dares  not 
add  to ;  and  whose  conditions,  if  violated,  may  render  his 
consecration  null  and  void  for  what  I  know  —  who  is  this 
archbishop,  who  does  not  know  whether  these  things  are 
done  or  not?  Credat  Judasus.  Are  there  no  penances  for 
careless  Romish  archbishops  ? 

"  Dr.  Gumming  is  at  liberty  to  inspect  this  if  he  will 
arrange  with  me  for  that  purpose." 

I'll  go  there.  I  will  probe  the  matter  to  its  depths.  I 
want  this  clearly  settled  in  your  minds ;  because  I  will  not 
let  Archbishop  Wiseman  escape  by  any  Jesuitical  sophistry. 
[A  Voice  :  "  Go  to  Golden  Square  with  the  police  with 
you."]  No,  I  will  go  without  police.  Did  you  ever  hear 
of  a  Scottish  Protestant  being  afraid  of  anybody?  still 
less  of  a  Romanist.  He  adds  (for  I  wish  you  to  know 
all):  — 

"When  Cardinal  Wiseman  was  consecrated  Bishop  in 
Rome,  he  took  the  English  form  of  oath.  On  receiving  the 
pallium,  at  which  ceremony  I  assisted,  his  Eminence  took 
no  oath.  Cardinals  being  exempt.  (How  ?)  (where  ?) 
(why  ?)  Had  he  been  required  to  do  so,  he  would  no  doubt 
have  repeated  the  same  form." 

Do  their  laws  bind  these  men  ?  In  what  authorized  doc- 
ument are  Cardinals  exempt  ?  Here  is  a  solemn  Pontifical, 
which  Archbishop  Wiseman  is  bound  to  observe  under  the 
most  solemn  conditions,  with  the  most  solemnly  prefixed 
bulls  —  a  document  which  all  bishops,  all  priests,  all  arch- 
bishops are  bound  to  observe ;  on  which  Catalano  writes 
5 


50  THE    GREAT    ArOSTASY. 

illustrative  notes,  which  explain  that  when  the  archbishop 
receives  the  pallium  he  must  take  the  oath,  and  that  till  he 
has  taken  that  oath  he  cannot  receive  the  pallium  —  and 
here  Archbishop  Wiseman  says  he  did  not  take  that  oath  ! 
Suppose  he  did  not,  what  follows  ?  Urban  VIII.  and  Bene- 
dict XIV.  say,  —  "  This  is  a  Pontifical  in  which  nothing  is 
to  be  changed,  to  which  nothing  is  to  be  added,  from  which 
nothing  is  to  be  subtracted."  Gregory  XVI.  and  Pius  IX. 
say,  —  "  Any  thing  may  be  added  to  it  that  Cardinal  Wise- 
man likes,  any  thing  subtracted  from  it  that  will  suit  it  to 
the  British  people."  The  boast  of  Romanists  is,  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  is  a  united  church,  and  that  we  heretics 
are  all  at  issue  with  each  other.  Here  are  two  Popes  say- 
ing of  the  Pontifical,  —  "  You  must  not  add  to  it,  you  must 
not  subtract  from  it;  if  any  thing  is  done  contrary  to  it, 
your  functions  are  not  done  at  all ; "  while  two  other  Popes 
(Gregory  XVI.  and  Pius  IX.)  say,  — "  You  may  chop  it 
and  change  it  in  any  v/ay  that  you  think  will  least  oifend 
and  best  deceive  the  English  people;"  —  and  all  is  right 
notwithstanding.  I  protest,  if  such  be  the  unity  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  we  are  better  with  the  disunion,  as  it  is 
called,  of  Protestantism.  If  I  assume  the  Cardinal's  state- 
ment as  true,  what  is  the  fact  ?  That  the  Pope  is  not  only 
the  interpreter  of  the  law,  but  he  is  the  creator  of  the  law, 
and  the  changer  of  the  law,  making  the  Papacy  at  present 
suit  the  specific  and  untoward  circumstances  in  v/hich  his 
subjects  are  placed  in  this  gloriously  Protestant  country. 
If  this  be  the  fact,  what  is  the  unity  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ? 
It  is  this :  —  that  the  Pope,  whoever  he  be,  keeps  all  under 
him  and  in  order.  If  this  be  true,  then  the  bishops  for  the 
time  being  are  the  minions  and  creatures  of  the  Pope,  sub- 
ject to  him,  sworn  to  him ;  and  they  must  be  obedient  to 
him.  Did  you  ever  happen  to  pass  before  the  National 
Gallery?  I  used  to  cross  Waterloo  Bridge,  and  I  often 
saw  there  the  same  man  with  a  large  square  cage,  with 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  51 . 

open  wires  in  front.  One  day  the  man  came  and  asked  me 
to  come  and  see  "the  happy  family."  I  looked  into  the 
cage,  and  certainly  I  did  see  what  much  startled  me  —  ca-ts, 
mice,  birds,  owls,  rats,  and  a  hawk ;  conflicting  animals  liv- 
ing in  perfect  order.  I  was  so  charmed  with  this  type  of 
the  millennium  —  this  foretaste  of  what  will  be  —  that  I  gave 
the  man  my  penny  and  passed  on.  I  saw  the  same  thing 
several  days  in  succession ;  but  one  day  I  was  passing  on 
the  other  side  of  the  road,  and  Avas  looking  across  at  my  old 
millennial  type,  which  I  enjoyed  very  much,  when  I  saw 
my  friend  watching  a  cat  in  one  corner,  that  was  looking 
with  most  popish-like  eyes  at  a  little  bird  perched  on  a  stick 
opposite.  The  cat  was  preparing  to  spring  on  her  prey : 
what  do  you  think  the  man  did  ?  He  took  a  thin  lath  from 
his  pocket,  put  it  between  the  wires  of  the  cage,  and  hit  the 
cat  a  smart  stroke  on  the  head,  when  puss  became  as  peace- 
able and  quiet  as  a  cat  could  possibly  be.  I  said  to  myself, 
"  That  is  the  very  type  of  the  Church  of  Rome."  When- 
ever a  bishop  begins  to  be  disorderly,  whenever  it  is  conve- 
nient to  subdue  one,  to  keep  in  order  a  second,  to  check  a 
third,  to  chastise  a  fourth,  the  Pope  steps  in,  smites  him  on 
the  head  ecclesiastical,  makes  him  quiet,  and  then  exclaims, 
"  What  a  united  family  are  we  ! " 

You  have  heard  Dr.  Wiseman's  disclaimer  of  that  clause 
of  the  oath.  Public  sentiment  has  been  justly  shocked  by 
it.  If  I  were  the  only  person  who  had  quoted  it,  I  should 
almost  have  mistrusted  my  own  eyes,  but  Canon  Words- 
worth quotes  it  at  full  length.  Cardinal  Wiseman  says  that 
he  took  the  oath,  as  a  bishop,  with  the  exception  of  that 
clause.  Is  not  this  odd  ?  The  very  clause  we  have  seized, 
and  shown  to  be  most  plainly  and  most  powerfully  incompat- 
ible with  loyalty  to  the  Queen,  and  charity  to  her  subjects, 
is  the  very  clause  he  shufiles  out  of,  and  announces  he  was 
lucky  enough  not  to  take  at  all.  Fortunate  Bishop !  happy 
coincidence  of  circumstances !  tender  deferee  to  the  British 


52  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

crown  !  But  has  Rome  penitently  renounced  this  clause  ? 
Has  she  cancelled  it  for  ever  ?  Is  it  only  in  abeyance  ?  If 
it  be  good,  why  is  Dr.  Wiseman  denied  taking  it  ?  If  it  be 
bad,  why  are  his  brother  bishops  on  the  Continent  forced  to 
take  it  ?  More  than  this ;  I  find  that  Bishop  Doyle,  who  is 
merely  the  Cardinal's  mouth-piece,  in  his  cathedral  says,  that 
bishops  do  take  an  oath.  I  am  glad  they  do.  Archbishop 
"Wiseman  says  he  took  that  very  oath,  with  this  clause 
omitted.  Bishop  Doyle  says  that  bishops  do  take  an  oath, 
and  he  explains  what  that  oath  is.  "  He  promises  in  that 
oath  to  pursue  and  combat  error,  and  to  uphold  the  sacred 
doctrines  of  the  Church.  Surely  it  is  not  a  dreadful  thing 
to  swear  to  combat  error."  Mark  this,  he  gives  you  enough 
of  catchword  to  enable  you  to  see  that  this  is  the  clause  he 
alludes  to,  and  is  the  form  w^iich  Bishop  Wiseman  says  he 
did  not  take,  —  for  he  says  he  did  not  take  it  in  any  form  at 
all.  Bishop  Doyle  says  he  did  take  it !  I  solemnly  declare 
that  that  letter  of  Cardinal  Wiseman,  and  the  sermon 
preached  by  Bishop  Doyle,  have  turned  over  a  new  leaf  in 
that  dread  chapter  which  will  be  unfolded  in  our  country, 
with  all  its  terrible  results,  if  Protestants  are  not  true  to 
their  Bible,  and  Englishmen  to  our  Constitution. 

I  have  now  given  you  all  particulars  about  the  oath.  I 
regret  the  Cardinal  is  not  here.  I  think  I  must  next  issue 
an  invitation  to  the  Cardinal  to  discuss  the  rest  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  Church ;  and  having  got  him  to  renounce  and 
repent  of  one  clause,  I  hope  we  shall  get  him  to  renounce 
his  creed  clause  by  clause  till  there  will  be  nothing  left. 

I  now  call  your  attention  to  the  words  of  Bishop  Doyle, 
in  his  sermon  in  the  pulpit  of  St.  George's  Cathedral.  After 
mentioning  his  conversation  with  his  Eminence,  Cardinal 
Wiseman,  Bishop  Doyle  says :  — 

"  They  talk  of  the  edict  of  Queen  Mary,  and  lay  it  at  the 
door  of  the  Catholic  clergy.  Now,  the  true  version  of 
Queen  Maiy's  edict,  in  connection  with  the  Catholic  clergy, 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  53 

is  this :  On  the  very  day  that  that  edict  was  sent  forth,  that 
GREAT  and  GOOD  and  fearless  friar,  Alphonzo  de 
Castro,  when  he  preached  before  the  court,  in  the  presence 
of  her  Majesty,  denounced  it  as  most  intolerant^  unjust,  and 
in  every  degree  opposed  to  the  glorious  principles  and  spirit 
of  our  holy  religion.  That  fearless  man,  in  the  name  of  the 
Church,  denounced  the  acts  of  Mary  as  opposed  to  the 
Church ;  and  it  is  the  same  Church  now  as  in  the  day  that 
De  Castro  defended  it." 

What  would  you  infer  from  this  ?  Would  not  your  infer- 
ence be,  that  this  "  great,  this  good,  this  courageous  friar," 
denounced  the  persecuting  edicts  of  Queen  Mary,  as  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  Romanism  ?  When  the  Bishop  says 
that  the  principles  of  the  Church  are  to-day  precisely  what 
they  were  as  exemplified  by  Alphonzo  de  Castro,  would  you 
not  instantly  say,  "  This  Alphonzo  de  Castro  must  have  been 
a  grand  exception  amid  the  Liguoris  and  Aquinases.  He 
surely  never  persecuted  heretics,  he  ever  denounced  every 
thing  like  proscription,  confiscation  of  property,  destruction 
of  life,  deposition  of  Queens,  release  of  subjects  from  the 
oaths  of  their  allegiance  ?  "  Would  you  not  suppose  that, 
praised  by  a  Bishop  the  mouth-piece  of  a  Cardinal,  in  the 
Cardinal's  own  Cathedral,  in  the  pulpit  which  the  Cardinal 
is  by  and  by  to  occupy,  and  has  occupied,  in  close  and  famil- 
iar connection  with  the  Cardinal,  having  his  confidence,  able 
to  speak  to  him  in  such  a  familiar  manner  as :  "  Now,  your 
Eminence,  what  about  this  dreadful  oath  ?  "  —  would  you 
not  suppose  that  this  man,  this  Alphonzo  de  Castro,  thus 
reprobating  the  deeds  of  his  fathers,  thus  denouncing  the 
persecution  of  Mary,  thus  declared  by  Bishop  Doyle  to  be 
the  true  exponent  of  the  charity,  the  meekness,  and  the 
mildness  of  the  Church  of  Rome  —  would  you  not  suppose 
that  one  has  only  to  open  his  writings  to  find  that  all  is 
charitable,  lovely,  amiable,  beautiful  as  Christianity  can  be 
depicted,  and  mild  as  Rome  would  wish  herself  to  be  exhib- 

5* 


54  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

ited  "  under  the  British  Crown^^  and  before  the  British  peo- 
ple ?  The  moment  I  heard  that  Bishop  Doyle  had  recom- 
mended Alphonzo  de  Castro,  as  an  expositor  of  the  gentle- 
ness and  mildness  of  his  Church,  I  went  to  Mr.  Darling,  of 
the  Clerical  Library,  Little  Queen  Street,  and  said,  "  You 
must  get  me  Alphonzo  de  Castro,  if  in  London,  at  any 
price."  Oif  he  went  with  others,  to  beat  up  the  booksellers 
of  London.  A  copy  was  purchased  for  £2  IO5.,  and  added 
to  his  library,  and  that  coj)y  I  have  on  the  table.  Alphonzo 
de  Castro  was  a  friar,  made  an  Archbishop  just  before  his 
death,  and  no  doubt  if  he  had  lived  longer,  such  are  his 
principles,  he  would  have  been  made  a  Cardinal.  The  title 
of  his  book  is  "  Alfonsi  de  Castro  Zamcrensis,  ordinis  mino- 
rum,  regularis  observantioe  provincia?  sancti  Jacobi.  In  quo 
libri  tres  de  justa  Ha^reticorum  punitione,  atque  libri  duo  de 
Potestate  legis  poenalis  continentur.  Madrid,  1773."  This 
is  the  gentleman  recommended  by  Bishop  Doyle  as  a  true 
exponent  of  his  Church.  This  is  the  gentleman  who,  he 
says,  rebuked  the  sanguinary  edicts  of  Queen  Mary,  and 
who  is  in  fact,  as  Bishop  Doyle  alleges,  the  true  representa- 
tive of  what  the  Church  of  Rome  is,  and  what  the  Church 
of  Rome  should  be.  In  order  to  save  your  time,  I  have  sat 
up  nearly  one  whole  night  and  translated  out  of  it  the  fol- 
lowing extracts.  Any  one  can  refer  to  the  volume  as  I  go 
along,  as  it  lies  here  on  the  table. 

This  exponent  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  this  rebuker  of 
Queen  Mary  for  her  persecution,  this  man  who  is  what  the 
Church  of  Rome  wishes  to  be  seen  to  be  by  the  British 
public  —  this  meek  and  excellent,  this  "great  and  good  and 
courageous  friar  "  says :  — 

"  Multas  et  varise  sunt  poense,  qui-  "  There  ai-e  various  punishments 

bus  Ecclesiasticse  sanctiones,  Iriipe-  with  which  ecclesiastical  sanctions 

ratorumqut    leges  hsereticos  plecti  and  imperial  laws  order  heretics  to 

jubent.   QuEedam  enim  sunt  spiritu-  be  punished.      Some  are  spiritual 

ales  pcEnae,  qujB  animam  solam  re-  and  affect  the  soul  alone ;  others  are 

spiciunt.  AlijB  sunt  corporales,  quae  corporal,  and  afflict  the  body.     "Vve 


CARDINAL    WISEMAN  S    OATH. 


55 


corpus  affligunt.  Do  singulis  suo 
ordine  dicemus,  et  primo  de  corpo- 
ralibus,  postea  vero  de  spiritualibus 
poenis  disseremus.  Inter  corporales 
pcenas  una  et  quoe  non  parum, 
hsereticos  vexat,  est  bonorum  om- 
nium proscriptio  et  confiscatio." 

"Altera  hajreticorura  poena  est, 
privatio  cujuscuraque  pra^lationis, 
jurisdictionis,  et  dominii,  quod  ante 
super  homines  cujuscumque  condi- 
tionis  habuissent.  Nam  qui  hiereti- 
cus  est,  ipso  jure  omnibus  talibus 
rebus  privatus  est. 

"Hoc  dominium  habent  reges, 
duces,  comites,  et  reliqui  doraini  qui 
populis  prajsunt.  Hi  super  quos 
tale  dominium  habetur,  nou  dicuutur 
servi,  sed  subditi,  et  vocabulo  jam 
ab  omnibus  recepto,  dicuntur  Vas- 
salli.  Hoc  dominium  etiam  amitti- 
tur  per  hwresim  manifestam,  ita 
quod  Kex  factus  haereticus,  ipso  jure 
est  regno  suo  privatus,  et  Dux  suo 
ducatu,  et  Comes  comitatu,  et  idem 
de  aliis  populorum  dominis  quocum- 
que  nomine  censeantur,  dicendum 
est:  Nam  de  orani  dominio  generali- 
iter  loquitur  illud  cap.  fin.  de  hajret. 
Nee  mirari  debet  aliquis,  quod  Papa 
propter  hceresis  crimen  Regem  a  re- 
gia  dignitate  deponat,  et  regno  pri- 
vet :  quoniam  in  negotio  fidei  etiam 
Reges,  sicut  et  alii  inferiores,  sub- 
duntur  Summo  Pontifici.  Quo  fit 
ut  illos  sicut  quoslibet  alios  punire 
possit." 


will  speak  of  each  in  its  order,  and 
first  of  corporal  punishments,  and 
afterward  about  spiritual.  Among 
corporal  punishments  one  which 
very  much  annoys  hei-etics  is  the 
proscription  and  confiscation  of  their 
property."  —  Cap.  v.  p.  98. 

"Another  punishment  of  heretics 
is  the  deprival  of  every  sort  of  pre- 
eminence, jurisdiction,  and  govern- 
ment, which  they  previously  exer- 
cised over  persons  of  every  condi 
tion.  For  he  who  is  a  heretic  is, 
ipso  jure,  deprived  of  all  such 
things."  —  Cap.  vii.  p.  105. 

"  This  authority  have  kings,  dukes, 
earls,  and  other  governors  who  rule 
the  people.  Those  over  whom  this 
authority  is  exercised  are  not  called 
servants  but  subjects:  they  are  also 
called  by  the  universally  received 
term  vassals.  This  authority  is  also 
lost  by  manifest  heresy;  thus  a 
King  having  become  a  heretic,  is 
ipso  jure  deprived  of  his  kingdom,  a 
Duke  of  his  dukedom,  an  Earl  of  his 
earldom,  and  so  with  other  governors 
of  the  people  by  whatever  name 
they  are  known.  Nor  should  any 
one  wonder  that  the  Pope,  on  ac- 
count of  the  crime  of  heresy,  de- 
prives a  King  of  his  royal  dignity, 
and  strips  him  of  his  kingdom;  for 
in  the  matter  of  faith.  Kings,  Uke 
other  subordinates,  are  the  subjects 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  who  can 
punish  them  as  he  does  others."  — 
Cap.  vii.  p.  108. 


This  is  what  is  recommended  from  the  cathedral  pul- 
pit of  St.  George's  in  the  Borough,  which  the  Cardinal 
regulates  who  is  not  to  have  Westminster  with  all  its  glory 
subject  to  him,  but  only  the  poor  and  degraded  population 
whom  he  says  he  is  to  elevate,  whom  he  is  to  dignify,  and 


56 


THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


whom  lie  is  to  make  peaceable  neighbors,  and  holy  and 
happy  Christians.  Listen  further  to  the  instruction  given 
for  the  guidance  of  the  newly  constituted  hierarchy  in  our 
country. 

"If  the  King  become  a  heretic, 
on  whom  does  the  sovereignty  and 
power  devolve?  Not  on  the  em- 
peror, especially  if  the  king  be  not 
subject  to  the  emperor,  such  as  the 
kings  of  Spain,  France,  and  Eng- 
land.''''—  Cap.  vii.  p.  108. 

"If  an  heretical  king  have  no 
heir,  or  if  the  heir  be  also  a  heretic, 
then  if  the  nation  be  not  infected 
with  heresy,  I  should  say  it  has  the 
power  and  right  of  electing  the 
king,  as  it  is  said  in  the  1st  Book  of 
Kings,  '  The  people  makes  itself  a 
king.'  But  if  the  people  be  infected 
Avith  the  same  pestilence  (of  heresy) 
as  the  king,  the  people  will  be  de- 
prived ijno  jure  of  the  power  of 
choosing  for  itself  a  king,  and  then 
the  business  will  devolve  on  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff."  —  Cap.  vii.  p. 
108. 


"  Si  Rex  fiat  hsereticus,  ad  quem 
regni  illius  dominium,  et  potestas 
jure  devolvetur?  Non  quidem  ad 
Imperatorem,  praisertim  si  Rex  non 
erat  Imperatori  subjectus,  quales 
sunt  Hispanorum,  Gallorum,  et  An- 
glorum  Reges." 

"  Si  Rex  hffireticus  nullum  habet 
liffiredem,  aut  ille  quem  habet,  est 
etiam  haereticus,  tunc  si  regnum  non 
est  etiam  hasresi  infectum,  dicerem 
Regnum  ipsum  habere  jus  et  potes- 
tatem  eligendi  Regem,  juxta  id, 
quod  in  primo  lib.  Regum  dicitur: 
Populus  facit  sibi  Regem.  Si  vero 
regnum  est  etiam  eadem  peste  infec- 
tum sicut  Rex,  regnum  etiam  erit 
ipso  jure  privatum  potestate  eli- 
gendi sibi  Regem,  et  tunc  negotium 
devolvetur  ad  Summum  Pontifi- 
cem." 


Hear  again  the  theology  recommended  from  the  pulpit 
of  St.  George's  cathedral  in  the  Borough. 

"  The  last  punishment  of  the 
body  for  heretics  is  death,  with 
which  we  will  prove  by  God's  as 
sistance  heretics  ought  to  be  pun 
ished."  —  Cap.  xii.  p.  123. 

"  It  hence  comes  to  pass,  in  order 
to  create  a  horror  of  so  great  a 
crime,  and  to  produce  in  others  de 
testation  of  it,  that  it  is  just  to 
inflict  the  punishment  of  death  on 
an  incorrigible  heretic."  Cap.  xii. 
p.  126. 

"But  there  is  no  greater  sin  (as 
we  have  shown  above,  in  book  first), 


"Ultima  se  jam  offert  corporis 
poena:  mors  scilicet,  qua  h-jereticos, 
nisi  tempestive  resipiscant,  juste 
puniendos  esse  apertissime  Deo  fa- 
vente  demonstrabimus." 

"  Quo  fit,  ut  ad  tanti  criminis  hor- 
rorem,  et  odium  aliis  ingenerandum, 
justum  sit  hairetico  incorrigibili 
mortis  pcenam  inferre." 


"At  nullum  est  (ut  super  libro 
primo    docuimus)    gravius    hajresi 


CARDINAL   WISEMAN  S    OATH. 


m 


peccatum,  nullum  est  ergo  crimen 
cujus  odium  sit  Christiano  viro 
magis  incutiendum,  et  inde  per  con- 
sequens  sequitur,  ut  nullum  sit  cri- 
men pro  quo  justius  aliquis  possit 
occidi,  quam  pro  hoeresi  fixa  et  in- 
sanabili.  Si  Martinus  Lutherus, 
cum  primum  coepit  eflundere  vene- 
num  suum,  et  legitime  admonitus 
noluit  resipiscere,  fuisset  (ut  dece- 
bat)  capitis  animadversione  punitus; 
cseteri  timorem  habuissent,  et  non 
prorupissent  tot  tanta^que  pestiferffi 
hffireticorum  factiones,  qu.ales,  proh 
dolor!  liodie  Germania  sustinet.  Sed 
quia  impunio  evasit  Lutherus,  ausi 
sunt  prodire  in  publicum  et  suas 
effutire  hjjereses  (Ecolampadius, 
Zuinglius,  Carolstadius,  et  omnium 
hsereticorum  pessimi  Anabaptistse." 


than  that  of  heresy,  and  therefore 
there  is  no  crime  the  hatred  of 
which  is  more  to  be  impressed  on  a 
Christian.  Whence  it  follows  that 
there  is  no  crime  for  which  one  may- 
be more  justly  put  to  death  than  for 
fixed  and  incurable  heresy.  If  Mar- 
tin Luther,  when  he  first  began  to 
pour  out  his  poison,  and  after  being 
lawfully  admonished  would  not  re- 
pent, had  been  capitally  punished  as 
he  deserved,  his  followers  would 
have  been  terrified,  and  there  would 
not  have  burst  forth  so  many  and  so 
gi-eat  heresies,  as  alas!  Germany 
now  endures.  But  because  Luther 
escaped  with  impunity,  (Ecolampa- 
dius, Zwingle,  Carlstadt,  and  the 
Anabaptists,  the  worst  of  all  here- 
tics, dared  to  go  abroad  in  public 
and  vent  their  heresies."  —  Cap.  xiL 
p.  126. 


He  gives  an  account  of  the  different  modes   in  which 
heretics  are  to  be  publicly  treated :  he  says :  — 


"  Ostendimus  jam  satis  (ut  opi 
nor)  aperte  justum  esse,  ut  ha?reti 
cus  occidatur,  quo  auteni  genere 
mortis  sit  occidendus,  parum  ad  rem 
facit.  Nam  quocumque  modo  occi 
datur,  semper  consulitur  Lcclesiaj; 
quia  semper  tollitur  nocumentum, 
quod  vivens  aliis  praistare  posset,  ct 
aliis  incutitur  timor,  ne  similia  do- 
cere,  aut  quomodolibet  dicere,  au- 
deant." 


"In  Flandria  et  aliis  inferioris 
Germanise  partibus,  quum  ego  illic 
ante  annos  decern  versarer,  vidi 
hjereticos  capitis  obtruncatione  pu- 
niri.    In    Geldria    tamen    hairetici 


"  We  have  shown  already,  plainly 
enough,  as  I  think,  that  a  heretic 
may  bo  put  to  death,  but  in  what 
manner  he  may  be  put  to  death  is 
of  very  little  consequence.  For  in 
whatsoever  way  a  heretic  may  be 
put  to  death,  it  is  always  for  the 
good  of  the  Church,  because  a  nui- 
sance is  always  removed,  which,  if 
alive,  he  may  create;  and  terror  is 
struck  on  others,  so  that  they  shall 
not  dare  to  teach,  or  in  any  way 
speak  such  things."  —  Cap.  xii.  p 
128. 

"In  Flanders  and  other  parts  of 
Lower  Germany,  when  I  was  there 
ten  years  ago,  I  saw  heretics  pun- 
ished by  decapitation.  In  Guel- 
ders,  however,  heretics,  tied  by  the 


58 


THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 


manibus  et  pedibu?,  legati  jussu 
Caroli  tunc  Geldrise  Ducis,  in  flumen 
aliquod  mittebantur  vivi,  ut  a  flu- 
mine  absorberentur.  Eodem  genere 
mortis  (ut  a  multis  qui  viderunt  au- 
divi)  punitus  est  Antverpiaa  quidam 
insignis  Lutheranus  jussu  Domince 
Margaretse  Caroli  Caisaris  Amitse 
quce  tunc  ob  Cassaris  absentiam, 
patriam  illam  gubernat.  Audivi 
etiara  Brugis  in  Flandria  a  multis 
fide  dignis  occulatis  testibus  consue- 
tum  esse  in  ilia  civitate,  hsereticos 
vivos  mitti  in  oleum  fervens,  ut  ab 
eo  citissime  comburerentur." 

"In  cseteris  Chi'istiani  orbis  Keg- 
nis,  aut  Provinciis,  nota,  perpetua, 
et  inviolabilis  est  consuetudo  hcereti- 
cos  igne  comburere ;  sic  vidi  fieri  in 
Francia,  prsesertim  Lutetiae.  Sic  in 
Hispania,  et  credo  sic  factum  fuisse 
semper  in  Italia.  Nam  beatus  Gre- 
gorius  libro  primo  Dialogorum,  cap. 
4,  narrat  Basilium  quemdam  Ma- 
gum  Iloma3  combustum  esse,  et  rem 
gestam  laudat." 


"Ex  quibus  verbis  apertissime 
constat  non  esse  recentem  inven- 
tionem,  sed  antiquissimam  sapien- 
tum  Christiaaorum  scntentiam  hse- 
reticos  esse  igne  creraandos." 

"  Quo  fit,  ut  postquam  de  illius 
haeresi  post  mortem  constiterit,  cor- 
pus illius  si  ab  alils  fidelium  corpo- 
ribus  possit  discerni,  sit  ab  ipsa 
sepultura,  tamquam  a  re  injuste  pos- 
sessa,  separandum,  et  extra  Eccle- 
siam  ejiciendum.  Sic  enim  Con- 
silium Constantiense  de  corpore 
Joannis  Wiclef  hairetici  jam  tunc 
defuncti,  ceusuit  esse  faciendum." 


hands  and  feet,  by  order  of  Charles 
Duke  of  Guelders,  were  cast  alive 
into  a  river,  there  to  be  swallowed 
up  by  the  stream.  A  Lutheran  was 
punished  in  this  way  at  Antwerp,  as 
I  heard  from  many  that  saw  it,  by 
order  of  Lady  Margaret,  aunt  of 
Charles  Caesar,  who,  in  Cassar's  ab- 
sence, governs  that  country.  I 
heard  also  at  Bruges  in  Flanders, 
from  many  eye-witnesses  worthy  of 
credit,  that  it  was  the  custom  in 
that  city  to  cast  heretics  alive  into 
boiling  oil,  that  they  might  thus  ba 
the  more  speedily  burned."  —  Cap. 
xii.  p.  128. 

"  In  other  kingdoms  and  provinces 
of  the  Christian  world  there   is  a 

KNOWN,  INVIOLABLE,  and  PER- 
PETUAL CUSTOM  of  BURNING  here- 
tics. I  have  seen  it  thus  done  in 
France,  especially  at  Paris.  So  also 
in  Spain,  and  I  believe  it  to  have 
been  always  thus  done  in  Italy. 
For  St.  Gregory  in  his  first  book  of 
Dialogues,  cap.  4,  states  that  a  cer- 
tain magician  was  burned  at  Eome, 
and  praises  the  transaction."  —  Cap. 
xii.  p.  128. 

"From  which  words  it  is  abun 
dantly  plain  that  it  is  not  a  modern 
invention,  hut  that  it  is  the  ancient 
opinion  of  vyise  Christians,  that  here- 
tics should  he  hurned  with  jirey  — 
Ibid. 

"  Whence  it  is  that  when  one  has 
been  convicted  of  heresy,  after 
death  his  body,  if  it  can  be  distin- 
guished from  the  bodies  of  the  faith- 
ful, is  to  be  separated  from  burial  as 
from  an  unjust  privilege,  and  cast 
without  the  Church.  For  thus  the 
Council  of  Constance  decided  it  to 
be  done  in  the  case  of  the  body  of 
John  WicklilTe  after  his  death."  — 
Cap.  xix.  p.  158. 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  59 

You  recollect  their  treatment  of  the  buried  body  of 
Wickliife  at  Lutterworth,  (when  I  pass  by  upon  the  rail- 
way, I  never  forget  that  glorious  Morning  Star  of  the 
Reformation)  ;  tliey  dug  up  his  dust  and  threw  it  into  the 
river;  but 

"  The  Avon  to  the  Severn  runs, 
The  Severn  to  the  sea ; 
And  Wickliffe's  dust  did  spread  abroad 
Wide  as  the  waters  be." 

And  so  it  has.  They  thought  to  extinguish  or  repress 
the  glorious  truths  which  that  faithful  martyr  preached,  and 
preaching  and  holding  which,  he  died  in  peace.  But  what 
has  been  the  fact?  That  the  Avon  that  carried  his  dust  to 
the  Severn,  the  Severn  that  carried  his  dust  to  the  sea,  and 
the  sea  that  carried  that  dust  to  all  the  shores  of  the  world, 
have  awakened  civilized  humanity  to  a  sense  of  that  horri- 
ble transaction.  The  wide  world  has  snuffed  that  deed 
upon  every  shore,  and  it  will  continue  to  stir  the  emotions 
of  a  righteous,  a  growing,  and  a  burning  indignation ; 
nations  have  felt  that  the  "  unchangeable  church "  will  do 
again  ^^ pro  posse"  what  the  "unchangeable  church"  has 
done  before.  And  what  we  ask  you  now,  in  the  name  of 
Hina  whom  you  love,  and  for  the  sake  of  that  country  to 
which  you  belong,  is,  to  protest  with  all  your  might  against 
the  setting  up  of  a  system  which  I  deliberately  assert 
combines  all  the  wickedness  of  the  damned  with  all  the 
corruption  of  the  dead. 

Let  me  give  you  two  more  extracts  from  the  same 
theologian,  recommended  by  Bishop  Doyle  in  his  sermon  in 
St.  George's  cathedral  pulpit :  — 

"  Postquam  totum  hoc  opus,  de  "  After  I  had  completed  tliis  work 

justa  hjereticorum  punitione,  absol-  about  the  just  punishment  of  here- 

veram,juvenem  quemdam  in  sacra-  tics,  I  happened  to  hear  a  young 

mentali  coufessione  peccata  sua  mihi  man  relating  to  me  all  sins  in  sacra- 

referentem,  audire   contigit,   quern  mental  confession.  When  I  had  ques- 


oCv 


60 


THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


cum  de  rebus  ad  fidem  et  Chris- 
tianam  religionem  spectantibus  in- 
terrogarem,  invenissemque  rectam 
ilium  et  Catholicam  fidem  tenere; 
qusesivi  deinde  ab  illo,  an  ha3reticum 
aliquem  latentem  agnosceret,  et  an 
cum  aliquo  hujusmodi  conversa- 
tionem  aliquam  habuisset.  Cui 
qujEstioni  respondens:  aperte  dixit 
se  scire  patrem  suum  esse  hgereti 
cum,  propterea  quod  ilium  in  fide 
adeo  pertinaciter  errare  viderat,  ut 
saspe  ab  eo  admonitus  nunquam  ille 
voluerit  errorem  suum  deserere; 
immo  potius  contra  pater,  nitebatur 
eundem  filium  in  errorem  suum 
trahere.  Hoc  ego  audiens,  hortabar 
filium,  ut  patris  ci'imen  quamlibet 
occultum  luquisitoribus  revelaret,  et 
quamvis  id  necessarlo  esse  facien- 
dum multis  evidentibus  rationibus 
convincerem,  nunquam  tamen  ut  id 
facere  vellet,  illi  persuadere  potui. 
Nam  hoc  scuto  se  tuebatur,  quod 
non  erat  decens,  neque  ratio  natura- 
lis  patiebatur  ut  filius  patrem  ad 
mortem  duceret." 

"  Ex  quibus  omnibus  apertissime 
constat  eum,  qui  secreto  novit  ali- 
quem hajreticum,  non  teneri  ad  ser- 
vandum  ordinem  ilium  correptionis 
fratemjB  a  Christo  salvatore  nostro 
prajfixum." 


tioned  him  concerning  the  Christian 
faith  and  religion,  and  found  that  he 
held  the  true  Catholic  faith,  I  asked 
him  whether  he  knew  of  any  con- 
cealed heretics,  and  whether  he  had 
conversed  with  any  such.  To  this 
question  he  openly  replied  that  he 
knew  his  father  to  be  a  heretic,  for 
he  had  seen  him  so  pertinaciously 
err  in  the  faith,  that  he  had  often 
admonished  him  concerning  it,  but 
he  would  never  forsake  his  errors; 
he  strove,  on  the  contrary,  to  lead 
his  son  into  them.  On  hearing  this, 
I  advised  the  son  to  reveal  the  hid- 
den crime  of  the  father  to  the  In- 
quisitors ;  and  although  I  convinced 
him  by  many  evident  reasons  that 
this  should  of  necessity  be  done,  yet 
I  could  not  persuade  him  to  do  it; 
for  he  shielded  himself  by  saying 
that  it  was  not  becoming  or  natural 
that  a  son  should  lead  his  father  to 
death."  — Cap.  xxvi.  p.  185. 


"  Fi'om  all  these  things  it  is  plain 
that  he  who  knows  any  one  to  be  a 
heretic  is  not  bound  to  observe  the 
order  of  fraternal  correction  laid 
down  by  Christ  our  Saviour."  — 
Cap.  xxvi.  p.  182. 


You  Protestants  are  not  perhaps  aware,  till  you  read 
this,  that  the  moment  one  becomes  a  Roman  Catholic,  he 
must  kneel  before  the  priest,  and  tell  him  every  thing  he 
believes  to  be  a  mortal  sin.  Liguori's  work,  recommended 
hy  Dr.  Wiseman,  contains  things  connected  ivith  the  confes- 
sion of  sins  so  horrible,  so  atrocious,  so  pestilential,  so  offen- 
sive to  every  sense  of  delicacy,  and  every  feeling  of  religion, 
that  their  horrihleness  is  their  only  and  their  impenetrable 
shelter.     I  dare  not  read  them.     Before  I  read  the  extracts 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  61 

I  gave  from  Liguori,  as  recommended  by  Dr.  Wiseman,  I 
consulted  a  number  of  friends  about  these  portions  of  his 
book.  They  said :  "  They  are  so  horrible,  that  nobody  dare 
read  them ;  let  them  lie  in  Latin  for  the  direction  of  the 
priests  of  Cardinal  Wiseman,  in  the  Archiepiscopal  diocese 
of  Westminster."  More  than  that :  if  you  are  once  brought 
to  kneel  before  a  priest,  to  tell  him  all  he  asks,  that  priest 
will  soon  know  your  thoughts,  your  weak  points  and  your 
strong  points,  the  peculiar  facts  in  your  family,  and  every 
accessible  feature  in  your  connection ;  and  how  he  can  best 
ply  the  power  beneath  the  scenes  most  effectually  to  pro- 
mote the  ecclesiasticam  utilitatem.  What  follows  this  ?  The 
man  that  knows  me  as  well  as  I  know  myself  is  my  master, 
and  I  am  his  slave  for  life. 

I  have  given  you  the  sentiments  of  Alphonzo  de  Castro, 
of  whom  Bishop  Doyle  in  the  pulpit  of  St.  George's 
cathedral  thus  speaks :  "  That  great  and  good  and  fearless 

friar denounced  the  acts  of  Mary  as  opposed  to 

the  Church ;  and  it  is  the  same  Church  now  as  in  the  day 
that  De  Castro  defended  it  against  the  acts  of  those  who 
were  sinning  against  it."  Let  Bishop  Doyle  con  over  his 
author  again. 

Mark  the  result  of  my  evidence  up  to  this  moment. 
First,  I  have  identified  Cardinal  Wiseman  with  St.  Alphon- 
sus  Liguori :  he  has  authenticated  the  antisocial  and  idola- 
trous sentiments  of  that  canonized  saint  as  substantially  his 
own.  In  his  letter  he  does  not  attempt  to  contradict  a  tittle 
of  what  I  have  said  on  this.  He  found  in  my  speech  only 
one  seemingly  vulnerable  point ;  he  dashed  at  it ;  he  says 
he  left  out  the  clause  I  quoted  —  the  worst  clause,  as  he 
thinks  —  in  his  oath.  His  assault  indicates  what  he  would, 
if  he  could,  and  how  invulnerable  my  position  is.  I  have 
identified,  in  the  next  place.  Bishop  Doyle  with  the  theology 
and  sentiments  of  Alphonzo  de  Castro.  I  wish  now  to 
identify  the  master  of  them  both.  Pope  Pius  IX.,  to  whom 

6 


62  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

thej  owe  allegiance,  and  Avhose  subjects  they  arc,  with  Pope 
Pius  V.  who  has  been  made  a  saint,  and  for  whom  there  is 
a  collect  in  the  Missal  and  Breviary,  in  which  collect  it  is 
said,  "  O  God,  who  in  order  to  crush  the  enemies  of  thy 
church  {ad  conterendos  hostes),  didst  deign  to  elect  Blessed 
Pius  the  chief  Priest,"  etc. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Vicomte  de  Falloux,  author  of  the  Life 
of  Pius  V.  the  present  Pope  says :  — 

"  L'ouvrage  dans  lequel  vous  re-  "  The  work  in  -which  yon  have 

tracez  la  vie  du  saint  Pontife  Pie  traced  the  life  of  the  holy  Pontiff 

V.  nous  est  parvenu,  et  il  a  6t^  tres  Pius  V.  has  been  received,  and  has 

agi'(5able  a  nous,  qui  nous  appellons  been  very  agreeable  to  us,  called  as 

du  nom  de  notre  si  gi'and  pr^deces  we  are  by  the  name  of  so  great  a  pre- 

seur,  bien  que  nous  manquions  de  decessor,  though  wanting  in  many 

ses  vertus.    Mais  de  meme  que  nous  of  his  virtues.     As  we  have  chosen 

I'avons  choisi  pour  patron,  au  pre-  him  as  our  patron,  on  the  first  day 

mier  jour  de  notre  souverain  pon-  of  our  sovereign  pontificate,  so  we 

tificat,  de  meme  nous  continuous  a  continue  to  address  our  instant  sup- 

lui  adresser  nos  instantes  supplica-  plications  to  him,  that  under    his 

tions,  afin  que  sous  ce  patronage  le  patronage  we  may  not  lack  courage, 

courage  ne  nous  fasse  jamais  d^faut,  and  that  we  may  be  able,  like  him, 

et  que    nous    puissons  comme  lui  to   defend  the  flock  of  Christ,  by 

servir  le  troupeau  du  Christ  par  la  word  and  by  example.  —  Given  at 

parole  et  par  I'exemple.  —  Donn^  a  Rome  on  St.  Maiy  Major,  5th  July, 

Eome,  le  5  Juillet,  1847.    Pie  IX."  1847,  the  second  year  of  our  Pon 

tificate.    Pius  IX." 

Notice  what  Pius  IX.  says  —  that  the  example  and  the 
sentiments  of  Pius  Y.  are  to  be  his  example  and  sentiments. 
Now,  what  was  the  history  of  this  Pope  Pius  V.  ?  He  was 
a  great  supporter  of  the  Inquisition,  promoter  of  the  Bull 
Coenai  Domini,  and  the  author  of  an  infamous  Bull  for  de- 
throning Queen  Elizabeth.  "  Christ,"  says  Pius  V.  whose 
example  Pius  IX.  is  to  follow,  and  whose  teaching  he  ac- 
cepts, "  has  constituted  me  king  over  all  nations  and  realms, 
to  pluck  up,  destroy,  scatter,  demolish,  and  build."  "  The 
said  Queen  [Elizabeth],"  he  adds,  "we  deprive  of  her  pre- 
tended right  to  the  kingdom,  and  of  all  dominion,  dignity, 
and  privilege  whatever;  and  absolve  all  nobles,  subjects, 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  63 

and  people  of  the  kingdom,  and  whoever  have  sworn  to  her, 
from  their  oath  and  all  duty  whatever."  —  (Mag.  Bull.  vol. 
2.  p.  324.  Luxembourg,  1727.) 

Here  you  have  what  Pope  Pius  V.  did  to  Queen  Eliza- 
beth. His  example  and  teaching  Pius  IX.  says  he  will 
follow.  Very  well.  There  is  another  Queen  upon  the 
throne  now,  the  splendor  of  whose  crown  eclipses  that  of 
Elizabeth's,  and  whose  love  of  Protestantism  is,  if  possible, 
stronger,  and  certainly  purer  than  hers.  Whether  what 
Pius  V.  taught  in  that  Bull,  in  an  unchangeable  Church, 
and  what  he  did  by  that  Bull,  was  right,  I  care  not.  Pius 
IX.  holds  he  does  nothing  wrong  in  warning  us  that  he  will 
imitate  the  same  example,  that  he  will  do  the  same  deed  — 
fro  posse  —  i.  e.  when  he  has  the  power.  And  therefore  I 
say,  with  the  profoundest  reverence  and  loyalty  for  our  gra- 
cious Queen,  and  with  especial  and  direct  reference  to  what 
Pope  Pius  V.  did,  mutatis  mutandis j  "  De  te  fabula  nar- 
ratur." 

I  have  thus  identified  the  three  great  Romish  moving 
powers  with  three  great  Romish  authorities.  Are  we  safe 
in  their  hands  ?  I  ask,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  Neutrality  is 
ruin.  But  let  there  be  no  violence  —  no  "No  Popery" 
mob  cry.  Let  me  warn  you.  The  Jesuits  are  moving 
among  Protestants,  and  are  trying  to  drive  you  to  make 
riots  and  disturbance ;  and  if  they  can  urge  you  to  plunge 
into  excesses,  to  make  violent  attacks  upon  chapels  or 
churches,  they  will  be  only  too  well  pleased.  This  is  what 
they  want ;  and  if  they  succeed  they  will  thus  do  more  to 
vitiate  and  destroy  that  noble,  burning  feeling  which  ani- 
mates you,  than  by  any  other  course  they  can  urge.  What 
is  it,  then,  we  are  to  do  ?  Here  is  my  proposal ;  and  I  hope 
it  may  be  taken  down  in  the  papers.  Let  our  Queen  and 
our  statesmen  and  our  Parliament  (and  I  think  they  will  be 
pretty  united  upon  this),  say  to  Pope  Pius  IX.  "  Take  back 
your  Bull."     I  have  looked  into  the  whole  system ;  and  in 


64  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

proposing  this  I  speak  with  great  caution  and  from  clear 
knowledge.  Let  England's  Queen  and  Parliament  and 
people  say,  "  You,  Pope  Pius  IX.  are  a  foreign  sovereign. 
[Roman  Catholics  admit  that.]  You  have  sent  into  this 
country  a  certain  Bull,  parcelling  it  out  [I  don't  care  one 
fig  what  you  call  it,  ecclesiastical,  or  spiritual,  or  what]  ; 
you  have  divided  it  into  districts.  You  have  sent  a  Bull 
for  doing  this.  You  take  back  that  Bull ;  we  bid  you  do 
so ;  or  as  sure  as  you  are  alive,  if  you  do  not  take  it  back, 
then  every  Bishop  that  that  Bull  constitutes,  and  who  as- 
sumes its  pretensions,  shall  be  put  on  board  a  120  gun  ship, 
with  Admiral  Harcourt  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  delivered 
in  Italy  duty  free."  I  am  asking  and  suggesting  what  is 
reasonable.  Do  not  meddle  with  Cardinal  Wiseman ;  he  is 
not  worth  your  notice.  Do  not  meddle  with  Bishop  Doyle  ; 
he  is  no  more  worth  noticing.  Let  this  country  say  to  the 
Pope:  "You  take  back  your  Bull.  Take  it  as  publicly 
down  the  Thames  as  you  brought  it  up  the  Thames.  If  you 
do  not  do  so  —  you,  a  foreign  Pontiff,  a  foreign  prince,  hav- 
ing thus  intruded  into  our  realm  —  your  Bishops  made 
under  your  Bull  shall  be  franked  home  to  their  congenial 
element  in  Italy."  And  it  is  very  proper  that  the  son  of 
one  of  our  English  Archbishops  should  take  charge  of  them. 

Let  us  kindle  and  increase  while  we  purify  and  direct  the 
public  indignation.  I  have  great  faith  in  public  sentiment 
on  this  subject.  The  lightning  is  strong,  Sir ;  the  thunder 
is  strong;  the  earthquake  is  strong;  but  there  is  that  in- 
spired, pure,  Protestant,  Scriptural,  public  sentiment  which 
smites  the  loftiest  cedars,  and  overturns  the  strongest  for- 
tresses, which  is  stronger  still,  and  which  the  Pope  and  his 
wiles  will  not  be  able  long  to  w^ithstand. 

All  these  remarks  have  arisen  from  Bishop  Doyle's  dis- 
claimer, and  from  Cardinal  Wiseman's  letter;  and  it  has 
kept  me  off  the  most  important  part  of  my  statement. 
That  part,  if  you  will  bear  with  me  a  little  longer,  I  will 
give  you. 


CARDINAL    WISEMAN  S    OATH. 


65 


If  I  believe  what  Cardinal  Wiseman  says,  he  repudiates 
one  clause.  It  is  perfectly  possible.  I  can  only  speak  of 
what  is  authorized.  If  I  want  to  know  the  form  of  worsliip 
in  the  Church  of  England,  I  open  the  Prayerbook.  If  I 
want  to  know  her  doctrines,  I  refer  to  her  Thirty-nine  Arti- 
cles. The  Church  of  En^jland  is  not  afraid  of  the  WfAit. 
There  are,  however,  clauses  in  the  oath  which  the  Bishop 
does  not  deny,  far  worse,  as  I  shall  show  you,  than  that 
which  he  does  deny.     They  are  as  follows  :  — 


"Papatum  Romanum  et  Regalia 
Sancti  Petri  adjutor  eis  ero  ad  de- 
fendendum  et  retinendum,  salvo  meo 
ordine,  contra  omnem  hominem." 

"Jura  honores,  privilegia,  et  auc- 
toritatem,  sanctse  Romanae  Eccle- 
siae,  Domini  nostri  Papoe  et  succes- 
sorum  prEcdictoi-um,  conservare,  de- 
feudere,  augere,  proraovere  cui-abo." 

"  Regulas  Sanctorum  Patrum,  de- 
creta,  ordinationes,  seu  dispositiones, 
reservationes,  provisiones,  et  man- 
■  data  Apostolica  totis  viribus  obser- 
vabo,  et  faciam  ab  aliis  observari." 

"  Ego  N.  Wiseman  electus  Eccle- 
siaj  Westminster  ab  hac  hora  in  an- 
tea  fidelis,  et  obediens  ero  Beato  Pe- 
tro  Apostolo,  sancta^que  Romanse 
Ecclesiae,  et  Domino  nostro  Pio  No- 
no,  Papaj  suisque  successoribus  ca- 
nonice  intrantibus." 


"I  will  help  them  to  defend  the 
Roman  Papacy  and  the  Royalties 
of  St.  Peter  [the  sovereign  preroga- 
tives of  the  Popes],  saving  my  order, 
against  all  men." 

"  The  rights,  honors,  privileges, 
and  authority  of  the  holy  Roman 
Catholic  Church  of  our  Lord  the 
Pope  and  foresaid  successors,  I  will 
endeavor  to  preserve,  defend,  in- 
crease, and  advance." 

"The  rules  of  the  holy  fathers, 
the  apostolical  decrees,  ordinances 
or  disposals,  reservations,  provisions, 
and  mandates,  I  will  observe  with 
all  my  might,  and  cause  to  be  ob 
served  by  others." 

"I,  N.  Wiseman,  elect  of  the 
Church  of  Westminster,  from  hence- 
forward will  be  faithful  and  obedient 
to  the  blessed  Peter  the  Apostle,  to 
the  holy  Roman  Church,  and  to  our 
Lord  Pius  IX.,  the  Pope,  and  his 
successors  canonically  coming  in." 


The  Archbishop  thus  promises  fealty  to  this  Pope ;  and 
that  fealty  (Jidelitas)  is  defined  by  ancient  writers  as  the 
allegiance  that  a  good  subject  owes  to  a  prince. 

One  thing  I  find  I  have  omitted,  in  alluding  to  Cardinal 
Wiseman's  statement,  that  he  had  left  out  one  clause  in  his 
oath.  I  found  the  other  day,  in  "  Delahogue's  Maynooth 
C* 


GQ  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Class  Book,"  (cap.  viii.  p.  370,)  the  following  statement : 
"  The  Church  commands  that,  as  far  as  possible  the  canons 
be  observed.  She  indulges,  in  cases  of  necessity,  that  they 
be  occasionally  relaxed.  She  tolerates  whatsoever  she  can- 
not punish  without  much  inconvenience."  AVhat  light  does 
that  throw  upon  the  Cardinal's  letter ! 

Now,  this  oath,  which,  it  is  said,  has  one  clause  omitted 
when  it  relates  to  England,  has,  nevertheless,  one  clause  re- 
maining, even  for  England,  that  which  makes  the  Cardinal 
say  that  he  will  defend  and  support  the  Pope's  regalia; 
that  is,  the  sovereign  pretensions  of  the  Popes  and  their  suc- 
cessors. Now,  what  do  these  Popes  think  ?  What  are 
these  royalties,  what  do  they  assume  ?  Let  me  quote  from 
Baronius's  Annals :  — 

"  Politicum  Principatura  sacerdo-  "  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
tali  esse  subjectum  nulla  potest  esse  political  power  is  subject  to  the  sa- 
dubitatio."  cerdotal." 

I  have  by  me  on  this  table  the  canon  law  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  (Corpus  Juris  Canonici),  in  two  volumes,  contain- 
ing constitutions,  decretals,  bulls,  and  the  canons  of  the 
Council  of  Trent.  Also  I  have  had  access  to  the  Bullarium 
Magnum,  and  Labbe  and  Cossart's  Sacred  Councils.  These 
works  have  each  an  admirable  index,  which  has  enabled  me 
to  hunt  out  what  I  am  going  to  give  you  :  you  have  it, 
therefore,  from  the  original,  and  not  second  hand.  In  the 
bull  of  Pope  Sixtus  V.  against  Henry  King  of  Navarre,  it 
is  said :  — 

"  Ab  immensa  eterni  Regis  poten-  "  The  authority  given  to  St.  Peter 

tiaBeatoPetroej usque  successoribus  and  his  successors  by  the  immense 

tradita  auctoritas  omnes  terrenorum  power  of  the  eternal  King,  excels  all 

Regum    et  Principum  supereminet  the  powers  of   earthly  kings    and 

potestates.     Dominiis,    regnis,    nos  princes.    We  deprive  them  and  their 

illos,  illorumque  posteros  privamus  posterity  forever,  of  their  dominions 

in  perpetuum.     A  juramento  hujus-  and  kingdoms.    By  the  authority  of 

modi  ac  omni  prorsus  dominis  fidel-  these  presents  we  do  absolve  and  set 

itatis  et  obsequii  debito,  illos  omnes  free  all  persons  as  well  jointly  as 


CARDINAL    WISEMAN  S    OATH. 


67 


tarn  universe  quam  singulatim  auc- 
toritate  prseseutium  absolvimus  et 
liberamus;  prajcipimusque  et  inter- 
dicimus  eis,  universis  et  singulis,  nc 
illis  eorumque  raonitis  legibus  et 
mandatis  audeant  obedire." 


severally,  from  any  such  oath,  and 
from  all  allegiance  whatever,  in 
regard  of  dominion,  fealty,  and  obedi- 
ence ;  and  do  charge  and  forbid  all 
and  every  of  them  that  they  do  not 
dare  to  obey  them,  or  any  of  their 
admonitions,  laws,  and  commands." 
—  Bulla  Sixti  V.  contr.  Henry  Na- 
varre, &c. 


Pope  Boniface  YIII.  has  a  decree  in  the  Canon  Law :  — 


"  Porro  subesse  Romano  Pontifici 
omni  humanaj  creatura>  declaramas , 
dicimus,  diffinimus  et  pronunciamus, 
omnino  esse  de  necessitate  salutis." 


He  says  also ;  — 


"Moreover,  wo  declare,  assert, 
define,  and  pronounce  it  to  be  of 
necessity  to  salvation,  for  every 
human  creature  to  be  subject  to  the 
Roman  PontiflF."  —  Extrav.  Comm. 
lib.  1.  tit.  8.  p.  1160.  Pars  2.  Leips. 
1839. 


"  Oportet  gladium  esse  sub  gla-  "  One  sword  must  be  under  the 
dio,  et  temporalem  auctoritatem  other  sword,  and  temporal  authority 
spirituali  subjici  potestati.  .  .  .  must  be  subject  to  spiritual  power. 
Ergo,  si  deviat  terrena,  judicabitur  .  .  .  Whence,  if  the  earthly  Jiu- 
a  potestate  spirituali."  thority  go  wrong,  it  shall  be  judged 

by  the  spiritual." — Ibid.  p.  1159. 

There  is  a  dispute  in  the  papers  at  present  as  to  whether 
there  is  an  assumption  of  civil  power  in  England  on  the 
part  of  Rome.  They  that  know  the  Canon  Law.  now  set 
up  in  England  by  Pius  IX.  and  Cardinal  Wiseman,  perfectly 
understand  it.  But  give  me  a  man's  soul,  and  I  will  make 
you  a  present  of  his  body ;  give  me  a  man's  conscience  to 
regulate,  and  I  will  take  care  to  regulate  all  the  rest.  Yet 
there  is  plenty  of  proof  of  this  pretension.  I  find  in  a  bull 
of  Leo  X.,  passed  in  the  Lateran  Council :  — 

"  Constitutionem  ipsam,  sacro  "  We  do  renew  and  approve  this 
prajsenti  concilio  approbante,  inno-  constitution  with  the  approbation 
vamus  et  approbamus."  of   this  present    holy  Council."  — 

Concil.   Lat.  Sess.  11.  p.  153.  voL 
14  Paris,  1671. 


68  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Recollect,  the  most  infallible  thing  to  a  Roman  Catholic  is 
a  General  Council,  with  a  Pope  at  its  head.  The  Italians 
say  the  Pope  is  infallible  ;  the  French  say  a  General  Coun- 
cil is  infallible ;  Cardinal  Wiseman  says  a  Pope  at  the  head 
of  a  General  Council,  or  both  together,  must  be  infallible. 
Now,  both  Pope  and  Council  have  decided  that  the  civil 
power  must  be  subject  to  the  spiritual  power.  Melchior 
Canus,  quoting  this,  says :  — 

"  Quam  extravagantem  renovavit  "  The  Lateran  Council  under  Leo 
et  approbavit  concilium  Lateranense  X.  did  renew  and  approve  that  con- 
sub  Leone  X."  stitution."  —  Lib.  6.  cap.  4.  p.  316. 

Colon.  1605. 

Again,  Baronius,  the  celebrated  Roman  Catholic  historian, 
says :  — 

"  Hajc  Bonifacius,  cui  assentiun  "  This  all  assent  to,  so  that  no  one 
tur  omnes,  ut  nullus  discrepat,  nisi  dissents  who  does  not  by  such  dis- 
qui  dissidio  ab  Ecclesia  excidit."         agreement  cut  himself  off  from  the 

Church."  —  Baron,  anno  1053.  s.  14. 

vol.  11.  Eome,  1605. 

Nothing  can  be  stronger  than  this.  Either  the  Church  of 
Rome,  as  represented  by  her  Popes  and  her  Councils,  has 
erred,  and  proved  herself  fallible,  or  Cardinal  Wiseman 
must  hold  that  Queen  Victoria's  sceptre  is  to  be  subject  to 
his  crosier.*  There  is  no  medium.  I  put  him  upon  either 
horn  of  the  dilemma ;  if  he  will  not  stick  upon  one,  I  will 
pitch  him  upon  the  other:  he  shall  either  admit  that  his 
Church,  as  represented  by  a  Pope  and  General  Council,  has 
failed  —  has  decreed  and  pronounced  what  is  as  inconsistent 
with  the  Catholic  faith,  as  it  is  injurious  to  the  rights  of  the 
Sovereign,  to  be  repudiated  by  him  and  every  loyal  subject 

*A  Letter  from  Lord  Beaumont,  a  Eoman  Catholic  Peer,  states  that  the 
recent  procedure  of  the  Pope  leaves  him  the  alternative  of  disobedience  to 
the  Pope,  or  disloyalty  to  the  Queen. 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk  has  nobly  repudiated  the  notorious  ultramontanism 
of  the  whole  procedure  of  Pius  IX. 


CARDIAL  Wiseman's  oath.  63 

or  he  shall  stand  by  his  principles,  and  acknowledge  himself 
prepared  to  seize  the  spiritual  sword  of  Rome,  and  to  make 
the  temporal  sword  of  Queen  Victoria  subject  and  obedient 
to  it. 

Innocent  IV.  (Lab.  vol.  ii.  p.  1.  col.  640.  Paris,  1671) 
deposed  the  Emperor  Frederick  II.  and  enjoined  none  to 
obey  or  regard  him  —  absolving  his  subjects  from  their  oath 
of  allegiance.  And  Matthew  Paris  (Ann.  1253)  says  Inno- 
cent called  kings  mancipia  PapcB^  the  tools,  or  puppets  made 
over  to  the  Pope  as  his  property.  Innocent  III.  deposed 
Otho  IV.  '•'' Imperatorem  ah  Imperio  depositum  percussit" 
(Naucl.  ann.  1212.) 

Roman  Catholic  bishops  of  Ireland,  when  examined  be- 
fore the  House  of  Lords,  have  declared  the  persecuting 
canon  of  the  fourth  Council  of  Lateran  to  be  spurious,  and 
not  to  be  found  in  the  original  copy.  I  open,  however,  the 
canon  law,  edit.  1839,  and  I  find  that  Gregory  IX.,  prede- 
cessor of  Innocent  IV.,  inserted  in  his  decretals  the  notorious 
decree  of  the  fourth  Lateran,  held  by  Innocent  III.* 

"  Excommunicamus  et  anathema-        "  We  excommunicate  and  anathe 

tizamus  oranem  heresim  extollentem  matize  every  heresy  exalting  itself 

se  adversus  hanc  sanctam,  ortho-  against    that    holy,    orthodox,   and 

doxamet  Catholicam  fidem  quam  su-  catholic  faith,  which  we  have  above 

perius  exposuimus  —  condemnantes  set  forth  —  condemning  all  heretics, 

haereticos  universos,  quibuscuraque  by  whatever  names  they  may  be 

nominibus  censeantur,  facies  quidem  denominated,  having  indeed  different 

habentes    diversas    sed    caudas  ad  faces,  but  tails  tied  together,  because 

invicem  colligatas,  qui  de  vanitato  they  all  agree  in  the  same  foll3^   Let 

conveniunt  in  id  ipsum.     Damnati  these  persons  when  condemned,  be 

vero  praesentibus  sajcularibus  poteu-  abandoned  to  the  secular  authorities 

tatibus  aut  eorem  ballivis  relinquan-  being  present,  or  to  their  officers,  in 

tar  animadversione  debita  puniendi,  order  that  they  may  be  duly  pun- 

clericis  prius  a  suis  ordinibus  degra-  ished  —  those  who    are    clergymen 

datis,  ita  quod  bona  hujusmodi  dam-  being  degmded ;  so  that  the  property 

natorum,  si  laici  fuerint,  confiscen-  of  persons  thus  condemned,  if  lay 

*  Five  successive  Popes,  (except  Celestine  IV.,  who  lived  only  twelve 
daj's,)  viz.  Innocent  III.,  Honorius  III.,  Gregory  IX.,  Innocent  IV.,  an<J 
Alexander  IV.,  decreed  the  extermmation  of  heretics. 


70 


THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 


tur:  si  vero  clei'ici,  applicentur 
ecclesiis  a  quibus  stipendia  recepe- 
runt.  Qui  autem  invent!  fuerint 
sola  suspicione  notabiles,  nisi  juxta 
considerationem  suspicionis  qualita- 
temqne  personse  propriam  innocen- 
tiam  congrua  purgatione  monstra- 
verint,  anathematis  gladio  feriantur, 
et  usque  ad  satisfactionem  condig- 
nam  ab  omnibus  evitentur,  ita  quod 
si  per  annum  in  excommunicatione 
perstiterint,  ex  tunc  velut  hjEretici 
condemnentur.  Moneantur  autem 
et  inducantur,  et  si  necesse  fuerit, 
per  censuram  ecclesiasticam  cora- 
pellantur  saeculares  potestates,  qui- 
buscunque  fungantur  officiis,  ut, 
sicut  reputari  cupiunt  et  haberi 
fideles,  ita  pro  defensione  fidei  prses- 
tant  publlce  juramentum,  quod  de 
terris  suae  jurisdictioni  subjectis 
tiniversos  hsereticos  ab  ecclesia  de- 
notatos,  bona  fide  pro  viribus  exter- 
minare  studebunt,  ita,  quodamodo, 
quandocunque  quis  fuerit  in  potesta 
tern  sive  perpetuam  sive  temporalem 
assumptus,  hoc  teueatur  capitulum 
juramento  firmare.  Si  vero  domi- 
nus  temporalis  satisfacere  contemp- 
serit,  infra  annum  significetur  hoc 
summo  Pontifici,  ut  ex  tunc  ipse 
vasallos  ab  ejus  fidelitate  denunciet 
absolutos,  et  terram  exponat  Catho- 
licis  occupandam,  qui  earn  exter- 
minatis  hgeriticis,  absque  uUa  con- 
tradictione  possideant." 

"Adjicimus  insuper  ut  quilibet 
archiepiscopus  vel  episcopus  per  se 
aut  per  archidiaconum  suum  aut 
alias  honestas  idoneasque  personas, 
bis  aut  saltem  semel  in  anno  pro- 
priam parochiam  in  qua  fama  fuerit 
hsereticos  habitare,  circumeat,  et  ibi 
tres  vel  plures  boni  testimonii  vi- 
res, vel  etiam,  si  expedite  videbitur, 


men,  shall  be  confiscated,  and  in  the 
case  of  clergymen  applied  to  the 
churches  from  which  they  drew  their 
stipends.  But  let  those  who  are  dis 
covered  as  only  notably  suspected, 
unless  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  suspicion  and  the  quality  of  the 
person  they  show  their  innocence  by 
a  suitable  purgation,  be  struck  with 
the  sword  of  anathema. 

Let  the  secular  powers,  whatever 
offices  they  may  hold,  be  advised 
and  instructed,  and,  if  need  be,  com- 
pelled by  ecclesiastical  censure,  and 
as  they  desire  to  be  reputed  and  held 
faithful,  to  take  a  public  oath  for  the 
defence  of  the  faith,  that  they  will 
study  to  the  utmost  to  exterminate 
from  all  territories  subject  to  their 
jurisdiction  all  heretics  so  marked 
by  the  Church. 


And  if  the  secular  power  refuse  to 
comply,  let  it  be  told  to  the  Sove- 
reign Pontiff,  and  let  him  denounce 
the  subjects  as  released  from  their 
fealty,  and  give  the  country  to 
Catholics,  who,  having  exterminated 
the  heretics,  may  peaceably  possess 
it." 

"  We  add,  moreover,  that  every 
archbishop  or  bishop,  by  himself  or 
by  his  archdeacons,  or  other  honest 
and  fit  persons,  should  traverse  at 
least  once  or  twice  a  year  every 
parish  in  which  it  is  rumored  that 
heretics  reside;  and  there  compel 
three  or  four  men  of  good  repute, 
or  if  expedient,  the  whole  neighbor 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  71 

totam   viciniam  jurare    compellat,  hood,  to  make  known  to  him  any 

quod,    si    quos    ibidem    harcticos  heretics,  or  person    holdhig  secret 

sciverjt,  vel    aliquos    occulta    con-  conventicles,  or  dissenters  from  the 

venticula  celebrantes,  sen   a  com-  life  and  manners  of  the  faithful."  — 

muni  conversatione  fidelium  vita  et  Decretal   headed    Innocent    III.    in 

moribus    dissidentes,    eos    episcopo  Concilio  Generali,  vol.  2.  p.  758. 
studeat  indicare." 

Cardinal  Wiseman,  in  his  defence,  (in  which  I  could  point 
out  a  hundred  holes  if  I  had  time,)  states  that  one  reason 
why  he  requires  a  new  constitution  of  the  Papal  hierarchy 
in  England,  is  that  the  canon  law  could  not  he  set  up  under 
Vicars  Apostolic.  It  is  this  canon  law  out  of  which  I  have 
been  reading.  Wliat  does  this  imply  ?  That  the  canon  law, 
commanding  the  extermination  of  heretics,  is  now  set  up,  or 
soon  will  be  set  up  in  England  by  Cardinal  Wiseman's  own 
admission.     Let  us  hear  a  little  more  of  it. 

Pope  Urban  II.  (anno  1088)  says :  "  Subjects  are  by  no 
authority  constrained  to  pay  the  fealty  which  they  have 
sworn  to  a  Christian  prince  who  opposeth  God  and  his 
saints."  (Corp.  Jur.  Canon  a  Petro  Pittieo  et  Francisco, 
vol.  1.   Paris,  1695.) 

Gregory  VII.  in  depriving  Henry,  son  of  the  Emperor, 
Baid,  "  It  is  right  that  he  should  be  deprived  of  dignity  who 
doth  endeavor  to  diminish  the  majesty  of  Christ."  [Plat, 
in  Greg.  VII.]  And  in  a  vSynod  at  Rome,  addressing  the 
holy  princes  of  the  Apostles,  he  says :  "  If  it  be  your 
part  to  judge  angels  who  govern  proud  princes,  what  be- 
cometh  it  you  to  do  towards  your  servants  ?  Put  forth  this 
judgment,  that  all  may  understand  that  not  casually,  but  by 
your  means,  this  son  of  iniquity  doth  fall  from  his  kingdom." 

Gregory  IL,  says  Baronius,  (anno  730,)  "  did  effectually 
cause  both  the  Romans  and  Italians  to  recede  from  obedience 
to  the  Emperor."  And  Baronius  adds :  "  He  did  leave  to 
posterity  a  worthy  example  that  heretical  princes  should 
not  be  suffered  to  reign  in  the  Church  of  Christ." 

In  the  Pope's  own  canon  law,  of  which  I  am  now  speak- 


72 


THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


ing,  and  which  could  not  be  set  up  under  the  Vicars  Apos 
tolic  two  years  ago,  it  is  said :  — 

"Juramentum  contra    utilitatern        "An  oath  contrary  to  the  utility 
ecclesiasticam  prasstitum  non  tenet."     of  the  Church  is  not  to  be  observed." 

—  Vol.  ii.  p.  358.  decret.  Greg.  IX. 
hb.  2.  tit.  24.  cap.  27.  Leipsic, 
1839. 


Again,  this  canon  law  says : 

"  Non  juramenta  sed  perjuria 
potius  sunt  dicenda  qua3  contra  util- 
itatern ecclesiasticam  attentantur." 


*'  These  are  to  be  called  perjuries 
rather  than  oaths  which  are  atn 
tempted  against  ecclesiastical  util- 
ity."—Ibid. 


Now,  this  is  from  the  Canon  Law  set  up  by  Car- 
dinal AViSEMAN  ON  iiis  invasion,  or  rather  to  be  set  up, 
for  there  may  be  a  quibble  about  that.  This  is  the  new  and 
serious  act  in  the  Papal  aggression.  He  says  that  one  rea- 
son for  requiring  regular  bishops  with  dioceses  is  that  the 
canon  law  could  not  be  set  up  while  there  were  Vicars 
Apostolic.  Vicars  Apostolic  have  now  ceased  to  be,  and  a 
hierarchy  is  constituted ;  and  that  canon  law  now  set  up  or 
soon  to  be  set  up,  says  that  those  are  not  to  be  called  oaths, 
but  rather  perjuries,  which  are  contrary  to  the  good  of  the 
Church. 


Again 


*' Vos  juramento  hujusmodi  non 
tenemini,  quin  pro  juribus  et  hono- 
ribus  ipsius  ecclesias,  ac  etiam  spe- 
cialibus  vestris,  legitime  defendis 
contra  ipsum  principem  stare  libera 
valeatis." 


"  Fidelitatem  quam  Christiano 
Principi  jurarunt,  Deo  ejusque  Sanc- 
tis adversanti,  nulla  cohibentur  auc- 
toritate  persolvere." 


"  You  are  not  bound  by  an  oath 
of  this  kind,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
you  are  freely  bid  God  speed  in 
standing  up  against  kings  for  the 
rights  and  honors  of  that  very 
Church,  and  even  in  legislatively 
defending  your  own  pecuhar  privi- 
leges."—  Decret.  Greg.  IX.  lib.  2. 
tit.  24.  cap.  31.  vol.  ii.  p.  360. 

"  The  fealty  which  subjects  have 
sworn  to  a  Christian  King  who  op- 
poses God  and  his  saints,  they  are 
not  bound  by  any  authority  to  per 
form."  — Vol.  i.  p.  648. 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  73 

Do  not  tell  me  it  is  not  seasonable  to  bring  forward  such 
statements :  this  is  the  canon  law  set  up  or  to  be  soon  set  up 
in  England :  [A  Voice,  "To  be  soon  set  down"]  or,  as  it 
is  nobly  and  prophetically  said  by  some  one  beside  me,  to 
be  soon  set  down.  I  have  thus  given  you  these  extracts  ex- 
planatory and  illustrative  of  the  royalties  of  St.  Peter 
(Regalia  Petri),  as  these  are  defined  in  the  canon  law.  But 
Archbishop  Wiseman  says :  — 

"  The  royal  supremacy  is  no  more  admitted  by  the  Scotch 
Church,  by  Baptists,  Methodists,  Quakers,  Independents, 
Presbyterians,  Unitarians,  and  other  dissenters,  than  by  the 
Catholics." 

This  shows,  if  he  has  been  most  infallible  in  leaving  out 
a  clause  of  his  oath,  he  is  most  fallible  in  stating  facts  about 
a  Protestant  country,  the  strength  and  principles  of  which' 
he  does  not  know.  He  says  the  Scotch  Church  does  not 
admit  the  Queen's  supremacy.  Why,  the  Queen  or  her  rep- 
resentative always  sits  on  the  throne  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  And  if  the  General 
Assembly  passes  any  law  that  trenches  on  the  supremacy  of 
the  Queen,  what  is  done  ?  They  are  brought  to  account,  as 
was  done  in  1843,  and  kept  within  their  own  bounds.  My 
fear  in  the  present  day,  I  own,  is  not  of  what  is  called  th6 
Erastian  element,  but  of  the  Ecclesiastical  and  priestly  ele- 
ment. As  to  Dissenters,  if  they  do  not  admit  the  Queen's 
supremacy,  they  do  not  admit  the  supremacy  of  a  foreign 
prince  or  potentate.  And  if  the  civil  power  trample  on  the 
rights  of  Dissenters,  what  do  they  do  ?  Complain,  and  ask 
for  redress :  and  if  they  cannot  get  it,  they  complain  and  suf- 
fer. But  if  the  civil  power  should  intrude  upon  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  and  of  Cardinal  Wiseman, 
what  will  they  do  ?  Absolve  "  pro  posse  "  the  subjects  of 
that  civil  power  from  their  oath,  and  make  them  free  from 
their  fealty.  There  is  here  a  broad,  a  very  broad  distinc- 
tion. Moreover,  Dissenters  do  not  preach  in  a  single  chapel 
7 


74  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

in  this  country,  till  they  have  a  license  under  the  Queen's 
supremacy ;  but  this  Cardinal  takes  hold  of  a  whole  diocese, 
and  rules  it  without  asking  any  license  but  the  Pope's,  and 
in  spite  of  the  Queen's  supremacy.  Archbishop  Wiseman 
again  says  :  — 

"  The  appointment  of  a  Catholic  hierarchy  does  not  in 
any  way  deprive  the  English  Establishment  of  a  single 
advantage  which  it  now  possesses.  Its  bishops  retain,  and 
for  any  thing  that  the  new  bishops  will  do,  may  retain  for 
ever  their  titles,  their  rank,  their  social  position,  their  pre- 
eminence, their  domestic  comforts,  their  palaces,  their  lands, 
their  incomes,  without  diminution  or  alteration." 

Dr.  Wiseman  is  bound  by  that  canon  law  which  he  has 
set  up,  to  purge  his  diocese  of  heretics,  whether  the  heretics 
be  Deans  or  Canons.  He  says,  Westminster  Abbey  may 
exist,  with  all  its  rights,  jurisdiction,  and  privileges.  So  it 
may,  as  long  as  he  has  not  the  power  to  make  it  otherwise,  but 
the  instant  he  has  the  power,  he  is  commanded  by  the  canon 
law  to  purge  the  abbey  and  the  diocese  of  all  heretics.  His 
oath  is  inconsistent  with  what  he  states,  so  that  if  he  leave 
out  a  clause,  I  do  not  think  he  will  gain  much  advantage  by 
leaving  it  out.  He  says,  bishops  may  still  retain  their  privi- 
leges and  lands.  I  dare  say  they  may;  but  I  hope  and 
believe  that  few  and  far  between  are  the  bishops  of  that 
Church  or  the  Ministers  of  any  other  Church  whatever, 
who  prefer  their  titles,  their  lands,  their  goods,  to  those  pre- 
cious souls  which  this  system  ruins,  or  to  the  glory  of  that 
God,  which  this  system  eclipses,  and  to  the  interest  of  this 
their  great  and  dear  native  land,  in  which  alone  there  is  a 
home  in  which  Englishmen  can  live  freely  and  die  happily, 
and  be  conscious  that  they  shall  do  well  in  leaving  their 
children,  when  they  are  gone,  beneath  the  overshadowing 
■wings  of  the  public  peace ;  and  know  that  when  these  chil- 
dren shall  tread  upon  their  graves,  they  shall  be  constrained 
to  admit  (oh !  I  beseech  you  to  make  it  so,)  "  If  our  fathers 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  75 

did  not  increase  our  national  privileges,  they  have  not  di- 
minished or  destroyed  them." 

Cardinal  Wiseman  again  says :  — 

"  The  act  of  Emancipation  forbids  any  one  from  assum- 
ing or  using  the  style  or  title  of  any  bishopric  or  archbish- 
opric of  the  Established  Church  in  England  or  Ireland. 
From  this  it  follows  that  they  are  allowed  to  assume  any 
other  titles." 

But  why  did  he  not  assume  those  titles  ?  Because  he  has 
not  the  power:  —  it  was  not  want  of  will.  What  a  very 
odd  archbishop  is  that  who  says  that  he  will  steer  his  course 
as  near  as  he  can  to  a  breach  of  the  law !  It  may  be  found 
to  be  as  illegal  to  take  a  title  ovi  of  a  diocese  as  to  take  the 
title  of  a  diocese,  and  so  Jesuitism  may  prove  itself  beaten. 
But  just  remove  the  penalties  of  that  law,  and  see  what 
will  be  the  effect.  We  Protestants  are  accustomed  to  love 
and  observe  the  law,  not  because  we  dread  its  penalties  but 
because  we  love  its  privileges  and  excellences  :  these  Roman 
Catholic  bishops  are  accustomed  to  bear  the  law  or  rever- 
ence it,  in  order  that  they  may  escape  its  penalties.  This  is 
just  the  distinction  between  a  man  who  is  a  Christian  and 
one  who  is  not.  And  what,  let  me  ask,  as  I  pass,  makes  a 
true  Christian?  No  priest  upon  earth  can  change  man's 
heart ;  no  ecclesiastical  rite,  or  sacrament,  or  ceremony,  can 
regenerate  the  soul.  The  disease  is  too  desperate  for  that. 
If  man  were  merely  stunned  by  Adam's  fall,  I  do  not  see 
why  a  little  water  sprinkled  on  his  forehead  by  a  priest 
might  not  resuscitate  him :  but  if  man  be  not  stunned,  but 
dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  then  that  power  alone  that 
can  open  the  sepulchre  of  the  dead,  can  change  our  hearts, 
and  make  us  Christians  indeed.  But  when  a  man  is  a 
Christian  he  does  not  want  to  get  rid  of  sin  and  the  viola- 
tion of  God's  law,  because  he  then  gets  rid  of  hell ;  he 
shrinks  from  it,  not  because  he  dreads  the  penalties,  but 
because  he  hates  the  poison  of  sin.     And  if  this  man  were 


76  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

a  right-minded  archbishop,  he  would  obey  England's  law, 
not  because  he  dreads  its  penalties,  but  because  he  loves  the 
freedom  it  gives  and  the  privileges  which  it  insures. 

Dr.  Wiseman  adds  (which  is  the  point  I  have  already 
alluded  to,  and  think  most  vital,  and  should  like  the  press 
to  take  up :)  that  "  the  Canon  Law  is  inapplicable  under 
Yicars  Apostolic."  Because  it  was  inapplicable  we  were 
safe ;  we  shall  see  by  and  by  how  it  is  to  be  applied,  and 
how  soon  it  will  be  applied. 

Looking  at  the  whole  of  this  document,  the  assumption 
of  absolute,  unqualified  jurisdiction  appears  its  plainest  and 
most  perspicuous  trait.  "  We  decree,"  the  Pope  says,  ".to 
be  null  and  void  whatever  may  happen  to  be  attempted  by 
any  one  against  these  things,  on  whatever  authority,  know- 
ingly or  ignoranlly."  Here  is  a  challenge  flung  into  the 
Parliament  of  England;  it  is  Hung  into  the  House  of 
Lords :  it  is  laid  down  before  the  throne  of  Queen  Victoria. 
The  Prime  Minister  has  given  an  intimation  that  the  chal- 
lenge will  be  taken  up :  I  long  for  the  results,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  they  will  be  what  we  all  heartily  desire. 

The  Tablet,  a  Roman  Catholic  newspaper,  says,  "  The 
work  is  done  —  the  Pope  has  done  it ;  we  must  accept  it. 
He  may  be  a  foreign  potentate,  but  if  Englishmen  choose  to 
acknowledge  his  authority,  they  have  a  constitutional  right 
to  do  so."  Who  told  him  that  we  have  a  constitutional 
right  to  rebel  against  the  Queen,  and  to  accept  the  Roman 
Pontiff  in  her  stead?  He  says  Englishmen  have  it.  On 
what  grounds  does  he  say  so  ?  I  venture  to  say,  there  is 
not  a  Protestant  Englishman  who  does  not  shrink  with  hor- 
ror at  the  compliment  paid  to  him. 

In  his  Pastoral,  Cardinal  Wiseman  says :  "  At  present, 
and  till  such  time  as  the  Holy  See  shall  think  fit  otherwise 
to  provide,  we  govern,  and  shall  continue  to  govern  the 
counties  of  Middlesex,  Hereford,  and  Essex,  as  ordinary 
thereof."     Mark  what  he  says.     If  he  had  been  wanting 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  77 

sj)iritual  jurisdiction  only,  he  would  have  said  this  —  "  We 
teach  and  shall  continue  to  teach  Roman  Catholics  in  the 
counties  of  Middlesex,  Hereford,  and  Essex ;  **  but  he  is 
not  satisfied  with  that,  and  he  says  "  we  govern  ;  "  not  "  we 
teach  persons,"  but  "  we  govern  places  "  —  not  as  long  as 
the  Queen  likes,  but  as  long  as  the  Pope  permits. 

I  may  mention  one  awful  sentiment  contained  in  a  report 
of  a  sermon  by  Bishop  Gillies  in  the  Dumfries  Courier,  in 
which  Dr.  Gillies  stated,  that  if  the  appointments  that  had 
now  been  made  should  be  reversed,  he  could  point  to  the 
Catholic  powers  of  Europe,  who  would  interfere  to  prevent 
it.  I  am  ashamed  that  a  Scotchman  should  be  found,  who 
Roman  Catholic  though  he  be,  should  go  into  a  pulpit,  and 
state  that  if  England  did  its  duty  by  its  Constitution  and 
Englishmen  their  duty  by  their  Bibles,  Austria  and  France 
and  Spain,  the  Roman  Catholic  powers,  would  interfere  to 
put  it  down.  I  should  think,  what  Bishop  Gillies  has  likely 
forgotten,  the  Pope  has  enough  to  do  to  keep  himself  in  his 
own  see.  Let  us  comprehend  the  true  character  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church :  (I  have  re- 
ceived a  note  from  Lord  Ashley  asking  for  evidence  on  this 
subject).  Cardinal  Wiseman  says  that  he  only  governs  the 
faithful,  i.  e.  Roman  Catholics.  I  quote  from  his  own 
standard  book,  Liguori,  vol.  viii.  p.  137. 

"  Haeretici,  apostatae,  et  schismat-  "  Heretics,  apostates,  and  schiS' 
ici,  possunt  affici  censuris,  quia  per  matics  may  be  visited  with  the  cen. 
baptismum  sunt  subjecti  ecclesiae."  *  sure  of  the  Church,  because  by  bap- 
tism they  are  the  subjects  of  the 
Church." 

"  Tenetur  Episcopus  etiam  in  lo-  "  The  bishop  is  bound,  in  places 
cis  ubi  officium  sanctse  Inquisitionis  where  the  holy  Inquisition  flourishes, 
viget,  sedulo  curare  ut  creditam  to  purge  the  diocese  committed  to 
sibi  diocesim,  ab  hareticis  purget."      him  of  heretics."  —  Vol.  9.  p.  345. 

"  Excommunicationem  incurrunt  "  They  incur  excommunication 
etiam  hsereticorum  credentes,  i.  e.    who  show  that  they  assent  to  the 

*  I  have  other  documentar}'  proofs  of  this,  which  I  hope  to  give  in  some 
remarks  on  the  Cardinal's  Manifesto. 

7* 


78  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

qui    eorum    erroribus  se   assentiri,  errors  of  heretics ;  as  if  one  should 

exterue  manifestant  —  ut  g.  si  quis  say,  'I  believe  what    Calvin  says,' 

dicat,    '  Credo    quod    Calvinus    ait  or  that '  Calvin  was  a  holy  man.'  " 

quod  fuit  vir  sanctus.'  "  —  Vol.  8.  p.  321. 

The  Tahlet  says,  ''  Rome  has  spoken.  England  is  par- 
celled out  into  dioceses,  and  in  future  there  will  be  a  bishop 
in  every  diocese,  and  a  parish  priest  in  every  parish.  The 
whole  community  of  baptized  persons  in  the  kingdom  of 
England  will  owe  obedience  to  the  Church  of  Rome  under 
pain  of  eternal  damnation."  Truly  said.  According  to  the 
Romish  canon  law  we  do  owe  it ;  according  to  our  Bibles 
we  do  not  owe  it ;  according  to  our  Constitution  we  do  not 
owe  it.  We  have  but  one  head  in  spiritual  things,  the  Lord 
of  Glory  on  his  throne  ;  and  but  one  Queen  supreme  in  the 
government  of  all  the  subjects  of  this  realm.  Queen  Victoria, 
whom  God  preserve  ! 

I  purchased  the  other  day,  in  the  shop  of  Messrs.  Seeley, 
a  "  Catholic  History  of  England."  This  book  shows  that 
Roman  Catholics  are  not  ashamed  of  their  creed.  The  only 
instance  I  know  of  any  Roman  Catholic  being  ashamed  of  a 
part  of  his  creed  is  that  of  Cardinal  Wiseman,  who  is 
ashamed  of  a  clause  of  the  oath ;  and  I  should  think  that 
was  the  only  blush  that  has  passed  upon  the  Cardinal's  face 
for  a  long  time.  They  are  not  ashamed,  let  not  us  be 
ashamed  of  our  religion.  If  they  are  not  ashamed  of  these 
atrocious,  persecuting  principles,  "  God  forbid  that  we  should 
glory  save  in  the  Cross  of  Christ."  Let  us  say,  "  I  am  not 
ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  This  "  History  of 
England  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  day  "  is  dedi- 
cated to  "the  Catholic  children  of  England  who,  in  their 
childhood  pursuing  a  silent  course  of  dependent  obedience, 
follow  the  footsteps  of  Jesus,  that  like  Him  also  they  may, 
in  their  after-life,  give  themselves,  with  an  entire  devotion 
and  singular  love,  to  the  work  of  God,  in  winning  back  our 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  79 

country  to  the  *  old  paths '  of  the  Catholic  faith."  (Lambert 
&  Burns,  1850.)  Hear  what  is  said  in  this  book,  published 
by  a  Romish  bookseller.  A  Roman  Catholic  bookseller  is 
not  at  liberty  to  publish  any  thing  he  likes  ;  for  a  Roman 
bishop  has  authority  over  his  subject's  shop  as  well  as  his 
conscience :  — 

"  Cranmer  wrote  the  most  violent  and  disgusting  papers, 
saying  that  the  mass  was  the  invention  of  Satan,  and  that 
the  Catholic  Church  was  full  of  lies.  At  last  the  Queen 
and  her  Council  had  Cranmer  and  a  great  many  Protestant 
bishops  put  in  prison,  and  they  were  burnt  for  heresy.  It 
is  very  difficult  to  say  now  what  should  or  should  not  have 
been  done.  The  whole  country  was  unsettled  and  diseased 
with  heresy,  and  it  was  clearly  impossible  to  stop  it  by  gen- 
tle means.  In  this  case,  you  know,  when  men  are  deter- 
mined to  destroy  not  only  their  own  souls,  but  the  souls  of 
many  others,  they  have  to  be  treated  as  malefactors,  and 
are  given  over  by  the  Church  to  the  law,  to  be  punished. 
It  was  very  shocking  that  people  should  be  burned,  but  it 
was  much  more  shocking  that  they  should  be  leading  so 
many  people  to  be  burned  in  the  flames  of  hell  for  ever ; 
and  this  was  what  Bishop  Gardiner  thought."  —  p.  254. 

Now  seeing  that  the  Pope  has  been  so  kind  as  to  offer  us 
his  canon  law  —  to  present  to  us  this  hierarchy  —  to  set  up 
these  dread  dogmas,  this  terrible  oath,  that  horrible  curse  ; 
let  me  ask.  Shall  we  be  benefited  ?  Inquire  what  has  been 
the  effects  of  Romanism  on  those  countries  over  which  it  has 
exercised  an  unchallenged  sway  ?  I  will  appeal  to  Macau- 
lay,  who,  in  a  fine  passage,  perhaps  known  to  you  all,  thus 
writes  :  — 

"Throughout  Christendom,  whatever  advance  has  been 
made  in  knowledge,  in  freedom,  in  wealth,  and  in  the  arts 
of  life,  has  been  in  inverse  proportion  to  her  power.  The 
loveliest  and  most  fertile  provinces  of  Europe  have,  under 
her  rule,  been  sunk  in  poverty,  in  political  servitude,  and  in 


80  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

intellectual  torpor,  while  Protestant  countries,  once  prover- 
bial for  sterility  and  barbarism,  have  been  turned  by  skill 
and  industry  into  gardens,  and  can  boast  of  a  long  list  of 
heroes  and  statesmen,  philosophers  and  poets.  Whoever, 
knowing  what  Italy  and  Scotland  naturally  are,  and  what, 
four  hundred  years  ago,  they  actually  were,  shall  now  com- 
pare the  country  round  Rome  with  the  country  round  Edin- 
burgh, will  be  able  to  form  some  judgment  as  to  the  tendency 
of  Papal  domination.  The  descent  of  Spain,  once  the  first 
among  the  monarchies,  to  the  lowest  depths  of  degradation ; 
the  elevation  of  Holland,  in  spite  of  many  natural  disadvan- 
tages, to  a  position  such  as  no  commonwealth  so  small  has 
ever  reached,  teach  the  same  lesson.  Whoever  passes  in 
Germany  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  principal- 
ity ;  in  Switzerland,  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant 
canton  ;  in  Ireland,  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant 
county,  finds  that  he  has  passed  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
grade  of  civilization." 

In  drawing  my  remarks  to  a  close,  I  beg  to  state  that  I 
believe  that  the  Roman  Catholic  laity  do  not  profess  to  hold 
the  principles  of  the  Canon  law,  and  the  documents  of  the 
Papacy  as  I  have  laid  them  down.  [A  Voice  :  "  Do  they 
know  them  ?  "]  It  is  impossible  that  high-minded  Roman 
Catholic  Englishmen  can  accept,  if  they  know,  their  canoni- 
cal atrocities.  This  aggression  is  a  priest's  concern  alone. 
The  laity  are  bound,  however,  to  accept  them  when  they 
are  taught  by  their  bishops  and  priests ;  but  they  do  not  yet 
know  them.  I  believe  (just  as  God  tells  us  in  his  Word), 
that  there  are  men  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  Christians,  in 
spite  of  it.  I  believe  there  are  Roman  Catholic  laymen  in 
the  servitude  and  bondage  of  the  priesthood  who  are  Chris- 
tian and  loyal  men  in  spite  of  that  bondage  and  servitude. 
Our  charge,  then,  against  Cardinal  Wiseman  —  a  charge 
that  I  draw  from  the  whole  of  what  I  have  now  been  stat- 
ing —  is  not  that  he  has  been  teaching,  as  a  Vicar  Apostolic, 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  81 

certain  spiritual  errors,  but  that  he  has  brought  with  him  a 
missive  of  a  foreign  prince,  assuming  power  and  jurisdiction 
in  the  midst  of  this  land  ;  and  that  from  Westminster,  as 
from  a  Popish  fountain,  he  will  spread  and  diffuse  anti-social 
principles,  which  must  dilute  the  loyalty  of  Roman  Catholics 
in  proportion  as  they  embrace  them,  and  must  injure  that 
reverence  and  that  homage  which  is  due  to  our  Queen  as 
the  head  of  our  country,  and  which  she  deserves,  as  the 
noblest,  the  purest,  and  the  most  beloved  sovereign  that  ever 
swayed  the  sceptre  in  these  realms.  If  we  owe  spiritual 
allegiance  to  anybody,  let  it  be  here  to  the  Primate  of  Eng- 
land, who  is  bounded  and  limited  by  the  laws,  and  who  does 
not  contradict  them, j'ustly  and  rightly  so;  or  in  Scotland, 
let  us  give  it  to  the  General  Assembly,  if  you  like,  which  is 
bounded  and  limited  by  the  same  laws,  and  neither  dares 
nor  desires  to  exceed  or  contradict  them.  If  we  are  to  give 
allegiance  in  spiritual  things  to  any  person,  let  it  be  to  a 
person  within  the  realm,  and  to  our  Queen,  not  to  a  poten- 
tate without  the  realm,  who  is  neither  her  subject  nor  our 
sovereign.  I  have  said,  in  speaking  on  this  topic,  that  our 
opposition  must  not  be  that  of  violence ;  it  must  be  that  of 
enlightened,  religious,  Protestant,  and  holy  feeling.  I  be- 
lieve, as  I  have  said  before,  there  is  great  strength  and  force 
in  enlightened,  Protestant,  public  opinion.  Every  minister 
of  the  Gospel  must  try  to  inspire  it ;  every  Christian  father 
at  his  fireside  must  try  to  teach  it ;  and  to  you,  mothers,  of 
whom  I  see  some  around  me,  let  me  say,  no  one's  influence 
exceeds  yours.  The  father  teaches,  the  mother  instils ;  her 
strong  influence,  like  a  delicate  aromatic  perfume,  penetrates 
where  tlie  coarser  influence  of  the  father  cannot  have  access. 
On  the  faithful  Protestant  teaching  of  the  mothers  of  Eng- 
land very  much  depends  whether  this  intrusion  shall  be  re- 
established for  a  season,  or  overthrown  finally,  and  fully, 
and  for  ever. 

I  have,  Sir,  no  doubt  of  the  ultimate  issue;  I  have  no 


82  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

fear  about  what  shall  be  the  upshot  of  all  this  excitement. 
Let  us  have  religious  principle ;  let  us  be  inspired  by  pure, 
religious,  and  holy  principles,  and  I  am  sure  that  the 
dominant  excitement,  so  far  from  plunging  you  into  excesses, 
will  lead  you  to  do  what  is  loyal,  and  what  becomes  you  as 
subjects,  what  is  right  and  worthy  of  you  as  professing 
Christians.  Hate  not  the  error  of  Popery  so  much  as  you 
love  the  truth  of  Holy  Scripture.  Do  not  forget,  in  your 
detestation  of  a  Cardinal's  hat,  that  an  immortal  soul  is  under 
it,  and  needs  to  be  saved.  Love  the  poor  misguided  victim, 
but  protest  against  his  principles,  and  yet  more  against  his 
procedure.  Pray  against  their  spirit ;  petition  the  throne  ; 
petition  the  Parliament ;  petition  God ;  speak  what  you 
feel,  and  speak  what  you  know.  Be  Britons.  Be  Chris- 
tians. 

We  are  at  the  commencement  of  a  great  crisis :  the  thin 
edge  of  the  wedge  is  introduced.  Be  quiet,  be  neutral,  and 
all  is  gone  and  lost  for  ever.  I  cannot  be  satisfied  with  the 
protests  that  we  sometimes  hear.  Let  it  not  be  ecclesiasti- 
cal system  against  ecclesiastical  system,  nor  Church  against 
Church,  nor  orders  against  orders.  This  is  the  collision  of 
earthen  vessels ;  this  is  fighting  on  Popish  ground  ;  and  the 
Pope,  on  his  own  ground,  will  be  sure  to  beat  you.  The 
Protestantism  which  evaporates  in  empty  plaudits,  and  has 
made  Exeter  Hall  to  be  almost  a  byword  to  the  public 
press  —  this  is  not  the  Protestantism  we  want,  —  such  is  not 
the  fountain  that  perpetually  plays,  it  is  the  accidental  jet : 
not  the  deep  stream  that  deepens  as  it  goes,  but  the  moun- 
tain cataract,  fed  by  the  sudden  shower,  and  suddenly  dried 
up.  Let  us  make  that  national  protest,  and  have  that  scrip- 
tural Protestantism  which  has  all  the  fixity  of  an  everlasting 
principle,  and  all  the  fervor  of  an  undying  passion.  Let  us 
look  not  behind  to  see  what  numbers  follow  to  encourage  us 
nor  look  before  to  see  what  numbers  may  be  opposed  to  u 
to  frighten  us.     If  we  ai'e  told,  as  Martin  Luther  was  told 


CARDINAL  Wiseman's  oath.  83 

"Luther,  the  whole  world  is  against  you,"  let  our  noble 
reply  be :  "  Then  England  will  be  against  the  whole  world." 
Let  yours  be  that  Protestantism  which  in  little  things  is 
yielding  as  the  osier  bough,  but  in  this  thing,  and  all  great 
things,  is  like  the  old  British  oak  that  grows  on  our  good 
British  soil ;  its  gnarled  roots  interwoven  with  the  everlast- 
ing rocks ;  evermore  lifting  its  great  head,  careless  whether 
the  storm  cloud  burst  upon  it,  or  the  sunshine  cover  it  with 
its  noontide  splendor ;  prepared  to  overcome  the  one,  and 
rejoicing  to  be  refreshed  by  the  other.  If  such  be  our  Prot- 
estantism, all  the  Bulls  that  Cardinals  can  bring  from  the 
arsenals  of  Rome,  all  the  weapons  that  Jesuits  can  hurl 
against  it,  shall  lie  in  splinters  at  its  glorious  roots,  or  shall 
be  hung  upon  its  branches  as  memorials  of  Rome's  impo- 
tence, and  trophies  of  England's  strength. 


LECTURE    III. 


WHAT    IS    POPERY 


The  prize  for  which  we  are  exhorted  to  contend  ear- 
nestly, is  called  in  Titus  i.  4,  "  the  common  faith ; "  Jude  3, 
"  the  common  salvation ; "  Phil.  iii.  1 6,  "  common  hope  ; " 
and,  in  Ephesians  iv.  3,  "  one  Lord,  one  Spirit,  one  body, 
one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  hope,  one  God  and  Father  of 
all ; "  that  is,  the  sevenfold  or  perfect  unity  of  the  Christian 
Church,  embosoming  within  it  the  principles  that  lie  at  the 
very  roots,  and  nourish  the  very  substance,  flower,  and  fruit- 
age of  the  Gospel  —  those  great  and  everlasting  truths,  the 
exhaustion  of  which  is  the  extinction  of  Christianity  itself, 
and  the  corruption  of  which  is  the  contamination  of  men's 
hearts  here,  and  the  perdition  of  men's  souls  hereafter. 

It  is  declared  by  the  Apostle  Jude  that  this  faith  was 
"  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  It  was  specially  delivered 
to  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  by 
whom  it  has  been  infallibly  recorded  for  our  instruction.  It 
was  intrusted  to  believers  —  or,  if  it  be  preferred,  to  the 
Christian  Church  —  of  every  age,  country,  and  outward  for- 
mula, to  be  witnesses  to  its  sacredness,  to  be  the  guardians 
of  its  integrity,  for  this  end,  that  ministers  and  people  might 
drink  from  its  pure  and  refreshing  streams,  "  without  money 
and  without  price."  The  Old  Testament  was  intrusted  to 
the  Jews  —  "  to  them  were  committed  the  Oracles  of  God  ;" 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  together  have  been  intrusted  to 
the  Christians.  In  both  cases  the  Sacred  Scriptures  are  the 
only  conclusive  and  binding  directory ;  "  to  the  law  and  to 


WHAT   IS   POPERY?  85 

the  testimony,"  is  the  only  legitimate  tribunal  to  which  Jew 
and  Gentile  are  commanded  to  appeal  in  all  things  sacred. 

This  faith  was  "  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  The  very 
same  Greek  word  which  is  here  translated  "  once,"  and  ap- 
plied to  the  Gospel  record,  or  the  Scriptures,  as  delivered 
to  the  saints,  is  also  used  to  describe  the  atonement  of  our 
blessed  Lord,  which  is  declared  to  have  been  "  once  for  all."  * 
The  original  word  denotes  finality  and  completeness.  The 
full  weight  and  force  of  the  expression  is,  unquestionably, 
•whis :  that  the  doctrines  contained  within  the  commencement 
of  Genesis  and  the  close  of  the  Apocalypse  are  the  centre 
and  circumference  of  saving  truth,  so  complete  and  so  per- 
fect, that  addition  must  necessarily  be  corruption,  and  in 
every  instance  grievous  sin.  Subtraction  from  this  book  is 
to  incur  subtraction  of  our  name  from  the  Book  of  Life ; 
and  any  addition  to  it  is  to  draw  down  the  infliction  of  all 
the  curses  that  are  written  in  this  book. 

The  reason  which  St.  Jude  assigns  for  this  command  to 
his  converts,  "  earnestly  to  contend  for  this  faith,"  is  declared 
to  be  the  fact  that  there  were  "  certain  men  crept  in  una- 
wares," who  are  said  to  have  been  inculcating  pernicious 
principles,  and,  in  addition,  abetting  certain  immoral  prac- 
tices. Now  we  maintain,  that  the  circumstances  of  the  pre- 
sent day  are,  to  a  great  extent,  parallel  in  spirit,  if  not  in 
letter,  with  those  of  the  Apostle  Jude's  day.  Never  did 
superstition  seem  to  menace  so  powerfully  the  eclipse  of  all 
we  love,  the  extinction  of  all  we  revere.  Never  did  the 
Church  of  Rome,  on  the  one  hand,  attain  a  spread  so  rapid, 
and  a  power  so  gigantic :  even  already  she  is  weaving  an- 
ticipatory chaplets  for  her  victories.  And  never  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Protestant  Church,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  there  evolved  so  rapid  and  so  fatal  an  apostasy,  as  that 

*  Thus,  in  Heb.  ix.  26,  uTra^  kTU.  awreT^ig,  riJv  aluvuv,  "  once  in 
the   end   of  the  world,"  contrasted  with  "often."     Heb.  ix.  28,  6 
Xpiardg  uTTc^  Trpoaevex^elg,  "  Christ  was  once  offered.'"' 
8 


86  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

which  has  carried  many  into  the  great  apostasy,  and  is  still 
overshadowing  not  a  small  section  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Church  of  England.  It  is  time,  therefore,  to  contend  for 
the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

There  are,  in  fact,  two  forms,  or  rather  degrees  of 
Popery,  in  the  present  day :  there  is  Popery  in  the  blossom, 
and  Popery  in  the  bud.  There  is  Popery  in  its  full-blown, 
destructive,  and  wasting  practices ;  and  there  is  Popery  in 
principle,  but  disclaimed  in  profession,  and  only  more  peril- 
ous because  thus  concealed,  which  waits  for  the  moment 
when  the  pressure  of  Protestant  watchfulness  and  Protes- 
tant faithfulness  shall  be  withdrawn,  to  expand  and  develop 
its  bud  in  that  overshadowing  despotism  which  has  enslaved 
the  free,  tainted  the  holy,  and  made  kings  and  nations  to  be 
prostrate  at  the  foot  of  an  insolent  hierarch."  * 

The  principles  of  the  Church  of  Pome  may  be  very 
briefly  summed  up.  The  document,  specially  binding  upon 
every  priest  and  member  of  the  Poman  Catholic  Church  is 
what  are  called  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent-t     It 

♦  The  Rev.  Mr.  Garbett,  Professor  of  Poetry  at  Oxford,  well  observes :  — 
"It  will  be  a  fatal  day  for  the  Church  of  England  —  her  glory  will  be  set, 
her  influence  gone,  her  independent  position  incapable  of  maintenance  — 
when  it  shall  go  forth  to  the  Avorld  at  large,  and  the  nation  whose  soul 
she  has  hitherto  been,  that  we  only  differ  from  Rome  in  words  or  modes ; 
and  when  our  prelates  shall  plead  with  her  as  an  intrusive,  instead  of 
warning  against  her  as  an  heretical  and  idolatrous  Church.  All  this  may 
be  conclusive  to  dialecticians,  and  seem  inexpugnable  strength  to  closet 
theologians;  but  men  are  governed,  and  the  world  is  moved,  not  by  the 
definitions  of  logicians,  but  by  the  broad  tangible  differences  of  things. 
The  Church  of  the  Reformation  is  a  power  and  an  energy;  her  position 
decisive,  her  attitude  commanding,  her  principles,  intelligible;  Avith  the 
Bible  in  hand  she  is  unconquerable:  —  the  Anglican  Church  of  Tractarian 
theology  is  a  poor  and  emasculated  mimicry  of  Rome,  with  her  wishes 
for  domination,  without  her  courage;  with  the  seminal  principles  of  her 
corruptions,  without  her  grandeur,  mystery,  and  soul-entrancing  magnifi- 
cence: she  has  no  r6ot  in  the  Bible,  no  place  in  the  heart  of  the  people; 
and  the  next  storm  will  overwhelm  her.  WiU  she  deserve  to  survive  ?  1 
think  not." 

t  Vide  Canones  et  Decreta  Cone.  Trid.  Romse,  1564. 


WHAT    13    POPERY?  87 

would  be  tedious  to  read  tliese ;  but,  immediately  after  that 
Council,  Pope  Pius  IV.  drew  up,  with  the  sanction  of  the 
Council,  a  summary  of  its  canons  and  decrees,  now  univer- 
sally received  by  the  Papacy ;  and  on  a  Protestant  aban- 
doning his  own  church,  and  joining  the  Church  of  Rome, 
he  is  obliged  to  repeat  this  creed,  and  set  his  seal  to  it,  as 
the  profession  of  his  faith.  It  is  usually  called  the  Creed  * 
of  Pope  Pius  the  Fourth;  and  to  it  every  priest,  and 
bishop,  and  cardinal,  and  pope  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  necessarily  subscribes.  In  reading  this  document, 
I  read  the  principles  only  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  without 
any  reference  to  the  practical  development  of  those  princi- 
ples in  her  books  of  devotion :  I  shall  have  occasion,  in  the 
course  of  my  lectures,  to  call  attention  to  the  practical  de- 
velopment of  those  principles,  as  they  exist  in  the  popular 
formularies  and  devotional  works,  which  bear  the  imprima- 
tur and  the  sanction  of  the  Roman  Catholic  ecclesiastical 
authorities ;  but,  in  the  mean  time,  I  will  lay  before  you  her 
summary  of  articles  of  faith  only. 

In  the  Bull  of  Pius  IV.  there  is  presented  first  of  all 
what  is  called  the  Nicene  Creed,  —  that  is,  the  creed  com- 
posed by  the  bishops  who  met  together  in  the  Council  of 
Nice,  in  the  year  325  —  a  creed  read  in  the  service  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  to  which  every  orthodox  Christian 
would  most  readily  subscribe.  After  the  twelve  articles  of 
the  Nicene  Creed  have  been  presented,  there  follows  what  is 
strictly  called  the  Creed  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  the  evidence  of  the  modern  origin  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  —  the  twelve  articles  of  Pope  Pius  the  Fourth's 
Creed.  The  Nicene  Creed  is  divided  into  twelve  orthodox 
propositions,  to  which  we  all  cheerfully  assent.     But,  as  if 

*  Cone.  Trid.  apud  Bullas,  p.  311,  Romse,  1564.  Other  authorities  are 
the  Catechismus  Romaiius,  published  by  Pius  V.,  1566 ;  the  General  Coun 
oils,  recognized  us  sucli  by  tlie  Roman  Church ;  Papal  Bulls ;  the  EpiscO' 
pal  Oath.  -  — .-_ 


88  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

to  prevent  the  effects  of  preadmitted  truth,  there  are  ad- 
ministered immediately  afterwards  the  twelve  poisonous  and 
neutralizing  heresies,  which  are  the  peculiar  articles  of  the 
Papacy ;  and  which  contain,  compressed  in  small  space,  the 
very  essence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  superstition.  The 
policy  of  this  is  obvious :  it  is  just  what  entitles  the  Church 
of  Rome  to  the  epithet  bestowed  upon  it  by  the  distinguished 
Cecil  —  the  masterpiece  of  Satan.  If  Satan  were  to  urge 
at  once  upon  the  Christian  Church  a  manifest  and  foul  and 
unscriptural  superstition,  every  enlightened  man  would 
revolt  and  reject  it,  as  plainly  not  from  God ;  but  this  he 
carefully  avoids,  and  so  far  shows  how  well  he  combines  the 
archangel's  wisdom  with  the  demon's  wickedness.  He 
makes  truth  a  pioneer  to  error,  and  God's  word  a  caterer  to 
man's  lie :  —  he  first  of  all  opens  twelves  panes,  clear  and 
transparent,  through  which  the  sunbeams  of  heaven  pour 
with  unbroken  and  undimmed  splendor ;  and  as  soon  as  he 
has  tempted  his  victim,  by  this  display,  to  come  within  the 
territory  which  is  sacred  to  himself,  he  puts  on  the  twelve 
shutters,  corresponding  to  the  last  twelve  articles,  which 
exclude  all  light,  and  kindles  forthwith  the  blue  lights  pecu- 
liar to  Antichrist.  In  this  amalgam  of  light  and  darkness^ 
truth  and  error,  the  human  and  divine,  we  have  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Roman  Catholic  superstition. 

The  first  Popish  tenet  in  this  creed  is  as  follows :  —  "I 
most  steadfastly  admit  and  embrace  apostolic  and  eccle- 
siastical traditions,  and  all  other  observances  and  constitu- 
tions of  the  same  Church." *  "I  also  admit  and  embrace 
the  Holy  Scripture,  according  to  that  sense  which  our  holy 

*  Apostolicas  et  ecclesiasticas  traditiones  reliquasque  ejusdem  ecclesise 
observationes  et  constitutiones  tirmissirae  admitto  et  amplector. 

Item  sacrara  scripturain  juxta  eura  sensum  qucm  tenuit  et  tenet  sancta 
mater  ecclesia  cujus  est  judicare  de  vero  sensu  et  interpretatione  sacrarum 
scripturarum  admitto;  nee  earn  unquam  nisi  juxta  unanimem  consensum 
patrum  accipiam  et  iuterpretabor.  —  Concil.  Trid.  apud  BuUas,  p.  311. 
Eomse,  1564,  et  [Parisiis,  1837,  p.  416], 


WHAT    IS    POPERY?  89 

mother  the  Church  has  held  and  does  hold;  to  whom  it 
belongs  to  judge  of  the  true  sense  and  interpretation  of 
Scripture ;  neither  will  I  ever  take  and  interpret  it  other- 
wise than  according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
Fathers." 

These  are  the  first  two  propositions.  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  direct  your  attention  to  these  errors  in  detail:  at 
present  I  ask  of  you  to  mark,  at  the  very  outset,  the  deflec- 
tion of  the  Papacy  from  God  and  truth,  to  man  and  tradi- 
tion. When  speaking  of  traditions,  the  Roman  Catholic  is 
taught  to  say,  "  I  most  steadfastly  admit  and  embrace  it,"  — 
the  language  of  a  hearty  and  cordial  recognition  ;  but  when 
he  comes  to  speak  of  Holy  Scripture,  he  is  made  to  say 
merely,  "  I  admit,"  —  receiving  God's  word  as  an  unwel- 
come visitor,  whom  he  dare  not  altogether,  for  the  sake  of 
appearances,  cast  out,  but  whom,  it  would  seem,  he  would 
much  rather  on  the  whole  be  rid  of.  There  is  a  hearty  and 
unfeigned  welcome  given  to  ecclesiastical  traditions :  there 
is  a  bare  nod  of  toleration  of  the  word  of  God.  This  rela- 
tive recognition  is  kept  up  throughout.  It  is  very  signifi- 
cant. 

"  I  also  profess,  that  there  are  truly  and  properly  seven  sa- 
craments of  the  new  law,  instituted  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
and  necessary  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  though  not  all 
for  every  one ;  to  wit,  baptism,  confirmation,  the  eucharist, 
penance,  extreme  unction,  orders,  and  matrimony ;  and  that 
these  sacraments  confer  gi*ace ;  and  that  of  these,  baptism, 
confirmation,  and  orders  cannot  be  reiterated  without  sacri- 
lege. I  also  receive  and  admit  the  received  and  approved 
ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  Church,  used  in  the  solemn  ad- 
ministration of  the  aforesaid  sacraments."  *  Baptism,  it  is 
here  stated,  cannot  be  repeated  without  sacrilege ;  that  is,  if 

*  This  document  is  also  found  in  English  in  the  Ordo  or  Eituale  Eoma- 
num,  published  under  the  authority  of  the  Romish  bishops  in  England. 
[Collegiate  Press,  Prior  Park,  1846,  p.  57.] 
8* 


90  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

it  has  been  conferred  by  a  Roman  priest,  who  is  supposed 
to  have  the  true  and  apostolical  —  or,  more  strictly,  mechan- 
ical —  succession,  then  it  is  not  to  be  repeated.  But  if  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  distinguished  and  amiable 
prelate  of  the  Church  of  England,  were  to  baptize  any  indi- 
vidual in  this  assembly,  that  individual,  on  joining  the 
Church  of  Rome,  would  be  rebaptized,  his  baptism  being 
regarded  by  that  Church  as  utterly  null  and  void.  And, 
accordingly,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sibthorp  left  the  Protestant 
Church,  and  joined  the  Church  of  Rome,  he  had,  first  of  all, 
to  be  baptized,  as  if  he  had  been  an  absolute  heathen ;  he 
had,  secondly,  to  be  ordained  as  a  deacon,  after  the  usual 
examination  ;  and,  thirdly,  he  had  to  be  ordained  as  a  priest, 
after  he  had  served  the  requisite  time  as  a  deacon ;  all  that 
he  received  from  the  hands  of  the  Church  of  England  being 
regarded  as  null  and  void,  whether  as  respected  his  baptism 
or  his  ordination.  And  it  seems  to  me  a  melancholy  de- 
scent, that  has  been  more  or  less  characteristic  of  the  whole 
of  the  Churches  in  Christendom,  and,  in  some  measure,  at 
the  present  moment.  The  Church  of  Rome  excommuni- 
cates the  Church  of  England ;  the  Church  of  England  ex- 
communicates those  that  are  next  to  her ;  and,  I  fear,  these 
last  have  not  also  been  guiltless  in  excommunicating  those 
that  are  next  to  them.  And  this  will  ever  be  the  result, 
where  any  thing  is  taken  to  be  the  essential  test  of  Christian 
ministry,  save  the  apostolic  requirements  laid  down  in  the 
Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus. 

"  I  embrace  and  receive  all  and  every  one  of  the  things 
which  have  been  defined  and  declared  in  the  holy  Council 
of  Trent,  concerning  original  sin  and  justification."  Justifi 
cation,  I  may  here  explain,  according  to  the  Church  of 
Rome,  is  partly  by  Christ's  merit,  partly  by  men's  merit, 
partly  by  priestly  absolution,  and  partly  by  Church  power, 
and  practically  by  and  through  and  in  the  Church,  it  is  a 
very  compound  and  heterogeneous  result  indeed. 


WHAT   IS    POPERY?  91 

"I  profess  likewise,"  continues  the  Roman  Catholic,  "that 
in  the  Mass  there  is  offered  to  God  a  trJIe,  proper,  and  pro- 
pitiatory sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead ;  and  that  in 
the  most  holy  sacrament  of  the  eucharist  there  is  truly, 
really,  and  substantially  the  body  and  blood,  together  with 
the  soul  and  divinity,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that 
there  is  a  conversion  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread 
into  the  body,  and  of  the  whole  sul)stance  of  the  wine  into 
the  blood ;  which  conversion  the  Catholic  Church  calls  tran- 
substantiation.  I  also  confess,  that  under  either  kind  alone, 
Christ  is  received  whole  and  entire,  and  there  is  a  true  sa- 
crament." I  need  not  add  any  explanation  of  this,  as  I 
shall  afterwards  have  occasion  more  fully  to  refer  to  it ;  I 
may  merely  observe,  that  it  is  believed  by  the  Romanist 
that  the  moment  the  priest  has  pronounced  over  the  wafer 
or  bread,  flour,  and  water,  " Hoc  enim  est  meum  corpus" 
["  For  this  is  my  body,"]  that  moment,  the  flour  and  water 
cease  to  be  so,  and  become  really  and  truly  flesh  and  blood, 
and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  believed  to  be  present  on  the 
altar,  not  only  in  spirit  (as  he  is  in  the  midst  of  his  own,  in 
every  age),  but  bodily  and  substantially ;  so  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  kneels  down  and  adores  that  piece  of  flour  and 
water,  as  we  know  and  can  prove,  on  the  supposition  that  it 
is  really  the  body  and  blood,  the  soul  and  divinity,  of  the 
Son  of  God ;  and  then,  after  this  act  has  been  performed, 
which  is  called  transubstantiation,  the  priest,  as  he  believes, 
has  power  to  take  up  that  which  we  call  flour  and  water,  but 
which  he  holds  to  be  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  present  it  to  God  the  Father  as  an  atonement,  proper 
and  propitiatory,  for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  So 
that  the  very  same  trust  which  we  place  in  the  glorious 
atonement  of  our  Lord  once  for  all  on  the  cross,  the  Roman 
Catholic  reposes  on  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  made  and 
offered  day  by  day  by  man.  The  explanation  of  the  last 
clause  is  this  ;  that  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  cup  is  with- 


92  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

held  from  the  laity,  and  allowed  only  to  the  officiating  priest, 
the  bread  alone  b^ng  given  to  the  others ;  solely,  on  their 
own  admission,  by  a  tradition  and  arrangement  of  the 
church,  and  not  according  to  primitive  and  apostolic  usage. 

In  the  next  place  :  "  I  constantly  hold  that  there  is  a 
Purgatory,  and  that  the  souls  therein  detained  are  helped 
by  the  suffrages  or  prayers  of  the  faithful."  Every  Roman 
Catholic  believes  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  sin  —  mortal 
sin,  in  which  if  a  man  die,  he  goes  to  hell  for  ever ;  and 
venial  sin,  in  which  most  men  die,  and  which  must  be  expi- 
ated in  Purgatory  —  that  is,  a  middle  place  of  torment. 
According  to  the  language  of  the  Catechism  of  the  Council 
of  Trent,  "  there  is  a  purgatorial  fire,  in  which  the  souls  of 
the  faithful  suffer  for  a  season,"  before  they  are  made  pure, 
and  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  next  article  is,  "  Likewise  I  believe,  that  the  saints 
reigning  together  with  Christ  are  to  be  honored  and  invoked 
[invocandos  et  venerandos~\,  and  that  these  saints  offer  prayer 
to  God  for  us,  and  that  their  relics  are  to  be  had  in  venera- 
tion." Hence,  in  most  Roman  Catholic  churches  on  the 
Continent,  the  remains  of  some  saint  are  deposited  below 
the  high  altar.  When  St.  Chad's  cathedral  at  Birmingham 
was  erected,  they  brought  the  mouldering  bones  of  a  saint, 
as  they  called  him,  from  abroad,  and  deposited  them  beneath 
the  high  altar;  and  from  that  deposition  they  believe  a 
peculiar  sanctity  and  sacredness  are  communicated  to  the 
place. 

"I  most  firmly  assert,"  proceeds  the  Roman  Catholic, 
"  that  the  images  of  Christ,  of  the  mother  of  God,  ever  vir- 
gin, and  also  of  other  saints,  ought  to  be  had  and  retained, 
and  that  due  honor  and  veneration  is  to  be  given  to  them." 
The  explanation  of  the  qualification  "due,"  is  this:  —  the 
Roman  Catholic  holds  that  the  worship  of  dovleia,  that  is,  an 
inferior  worship,  is  to  be  given  to  the  saints ;  that  the  wor- 
ship of  vTteQdovXeicc  is  to  be  given  to  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and 


WHAT   IS   POPERY?  93 

then  that  the  loftiest  worship,  XatQsia,  or  supreme  religious 
worship,  is  to  be  given  to  God.  But  at  the  time  the  bishops 
met  in  the  Council  of  Trent,  there  were  great  disputes  what 
degree  of  veneration  ought  to  be  given  to  the  image  or  rep- 
resentation of  Christ.  Thomas  Aquinas,  a  distinguished 
doctor  and  saint  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  held  that 
the  highest  worship,  or  XarQeia,  ought  to  be  given  to  the  pic- 
ture of  Christ,  because  the  worship  does  not  terminate  on 
the  picture,  but  extends  to  Christ  himself;  and  that  the  same 
supreme  worship,  XatQeia,  ought  to  be  given  to  the  cross  of 
Christ.  And,  in  fact,  on  Good  Friday,  this  worship  is  at 
this  moment  actually  given,  in  every  Romish  Chapel  in 
England,  when,  at  a  certain  moment,  the  priest  brings  for- 
ward a  wooden  cross,  which  the  people  fall  down  and  adore. 
On  talking  with  a  Roman  Catholic,  I  was  assured  that  her 
priest  informed  her  that  Roman  Catholics  alone  glory  in  the 
cross,  and  that  Protestants  do  not ;  and  the  proof  the  priest 
adduced  was,  that  on  Good  Friday,  in  the  Romish  Church, 
the  cross  is  produced,  and  the  people  approach  and  kiss  and 
adore  it,  and  thereby  show  that  they  glory  in  the  cross ; 
whereas,  in  the  Protestant  Clmrch,  no  such  exhibition  takes 
place.  On  Good  Friday,*  according  to  the  Roman  Missal, 
the  priest  calls  out,  the  moment  he  produces  the  cross, 
"  Come,  let  us  adore  "  \_adoremus']  ;  and  immediately  after- 
wards he  makes  another  movement,  and  says, "  Come,  let  us 
adore  the  wood  of  the  cross  on  which  the  salvation  of  the 
world  hung."  The  Council  of  Trent  being  placed  in  a  diffi- 
culty, whether  to  side  with  Thomas  Aquinas,  or  with  the 
more  moderate  party,  defined  and  decreed,  in  the  exercise 
of  their  presumed  infallibility,  that  "  due  honor  and  venera- 
tion," not  expressing  the  kind  or  amount  of  veneration  that 
is  due,  ought  to  be  given  to  the  images  of  Christ,  of  the 
mother  of  God,  and  of  the  other  saints. 

*  See  the  Missale  Romanum,  or  the  Missal  for  the  use  cf  the  laity.    Ser- 
rice  for  Good  Friday. 


94  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

"  I  also  affirm,  that  the  power  of  Indulgences  is  left  by 
Christ  in  the  Church,  and  that  the  use  of  them  is  most 
wholesome  to  Christian  people."  Now,  many  Protestants 
have  a  wrong  notion  of  what  is  meant  by  Indulgences  in  the 
Church  of  Rome.  I  have  heard  distinguished  Protestant 
advocates  commit  themselves  very  strangely  upon  this  sub- 
ject ;  and  nothing  so  rejoices  a  Roman  Catholic  as  to  hear  a 
Protestant  make  a  rash  assertion,  which  cannot  be  substan- 
tiated. An  Indulgence  does  not  mean  liberty  to  commit  sin 
for  the  future,  (though  Romanists  have  thus  used  it,)  or  par- 
don for  sins  that  are  past ;  all  that  it  is  theoretically  under- 
stood to  mean,  is  a  remission  of  the  temporal  punishment 
that  may  be  due  to  the  individual,  after  the  sin,  w^hether 
mortal  or  venial,  has  its  guilt  forgiven.  The  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church  holds,  that  after  God  forgives  sin,  or  after  the 
priest  judicially  forgives  it  in  God's  place,  there  remains  a 
temporal  punishment ;  which  if  not  endured  in  this  world 
must  be  borne  in  Purgatory  till  the  sin  be  completely  burnt 
out,  and  the  soul  thereby  made  fit  for  heaven.  An  indul- 
gence is  a  remission  of  this  temporal  punishment.  It  is  at 
best  a  wretched  caricature  of  the  real  forgiveness  of  God. 
Hence,  according  to  Roman  Catholic  theology,  if  I  have 
been  guilty  of  a  venial  sin,  which  deserves  a  century  of  suf- 
fering in  Purgatory,  but  if,  through  my  influence  with  the 
Pope,  or  some  introduction  of  a  more  substantial  nature,  I 
receive  a  bull  from  the  Pope  of  fifty  years'  indulgence,  this 
will  exempt  me  from  fifty  years  of  suffering  in  Purgatory : 
and  if  he  gives  me  a  full  indulgence,  it  will  extend  over  the 
whole  period,  and  I  shall  not  have  to  go  into  purgatory  at 
all  for  that  sin.  You  readily  perceive  how  tremendous  a 
prerogative  is  thus  conferred  on  the  priesthood.  So  vigor- 
ously did  the  priests  wield  this  power  on  the  Continent  of 
Europe,  up  to  a  recent  period,  that  a  law  was  lately  enacted 
in  Belgium,  now  under  Leopold,  that  no  money  left  to  a 
confessor  by  a  dying  layman  should  be  a  valid  bequest  iu 


WHAT    IS    POPERY?  95 

the  estimate  of  the  courts ;  the  whole  property  of  the  dying 
having  been  found  to  be  daily  passing  into  the  hands  of  the 
priestSy  to  pay  them  for  saying  masses  for  the  soul,  and 
shortening  the  torments  of  Purgatory.  In  Bath,  for  in- 
stance, after  Prior  College  was  consumed  by  fire,  circulars 
were  issued,  (one  of  which  I  saw,  and  therefore  I  can  speak 
from  my  own  personal  knowledge,)  promising  to  every  one 
who  contributed  (if  1  remember  the  exact  sum)  five  guineas 
towards  the  rebuilding,  mass  offered  up  for  himself  or  his 
friends  in  Purgatory  once  a  day ;  to  every  one  who  contrib- 
uted one  guinea,  a  mass  once  a  week ;  and  to  everyone  who 
contributed  a  sum  below  a  guinea,  remembrance  in  the  gen- 
eral prayers  of  the  faithful.  Now,  what  is  the  plain  common 
sense  of  this  arrangement  ?  It  is  that  if  I  contribute  five 
guineas,  my  friend,  presumed  to  be  in  Purgatory,  will  have 
seven  prayers  offered  up  for  the  deliverance  of  his  soul,  for 
one  that  another's  friend  will  have,  who  could  contribute  only 
one  guinea ;  the  latter  receiving  but  a  seventh  portion  of 
the  meritorious  appliances  that  mine  will  have ;  and  the  ob- 
vious result  must  be,  that  my  friend  will  get  out  of  Purgatory 
seven  times  sooner  than  his.  In  other  words,  the  speed  with 
which  the  souls  of  the  faithful  escape  from  the  regions  of 
suffering,  if  I  may  judge  from  this  instance,  is  precisely  in 
the  ratio  of  the  golden  stimulus  that  is  placed  in  the  "  itching 
palms "  of  the  priests,  by  way  of  hire  for  masses  for  the 
dead. 

"  I  acknowledge  the  holy  apostolic  Roman  Church,  for  the 
mother  and  mistress  of  all  churches;  and  I  promise  true 
obedience  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  successor  of  St.  Peter, 
prince  of  the  apostles,  and  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ."  Such  is 
the  next  article. 

"  I  likewise  undoubtedly  receive  and  confess  all  other 
things  delivered,  defined,  and  decreed  by  the  Sacred  Canons 
and  General  Councils,  and  particularly  by  the  Holy  Coun- 
cil of  Trent ;  and  I  condemn,  reject,  and  anathematize  all 


96  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

things  contrary  thereto,  and  all  heresies  wnich  the  Church 
has  condemned,  rejected,  and  anathematized." 

You  will  observe,  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  is  called  the 
"  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ ; "  a  verj  awful,  and  as  he  shows 
himself,  a  blasphemous  assumption.  He  is  also  called 
"  prince  of  apostles,"  and  "  successor  of  St.  Peter."  Now  it 
does  so  happen,  just  as  it  does  with  what  is  called  apostolical 
succession,  that  the  very  link  that  is  absolutely  vital  in  this 
chain  is  altogether  wanting.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  no 
indisputable  evidence,  at  least  in  Scripture,  that  the  apostle 
Peter  ever  was  at  Rome  at  all.  In  the  course  of  a  discus- 
sion which  I  had  with  a  distinguished  advocate  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  his  argument  was,  that  it  was  perfectly 
clear  that  Peter  was  at  Rome,  because  at  the  close  of  his 
First  Epistle  he  says,  "The  Church  that  is  at  Babylon 
saluteth  you."  "  AVhat,  then,"  said  I,  "  do  you  admit  that 
Babylon  is  the  Scriptural  designation  of  your  Church?" 
He  replied,  "  Certainly  it  is."  "  Then,"  I  said,  "  turn  with 
me  to  the  eighteenth  of  Revelation,  and  read  the  description 
of  your  church  as  it  is  stereotyped  there ;  and  I  am  sure,  if 
there  be  a  possibility  of  shame  in  your  mind,  your  counte- 
nance must  blush  as  you  hear  the  enormities  by  which  it  is 
defiled."  Here,  however,  let  me  state,  that  what  are  called 
postscripts  at  the  close  of  the  Epistles,  "  Written  from  "  so 
and  so,  are  no  part  of  the  word  of  God ;  they  are  additions 
not  of  the  least  value,  and  occasionally  historically  inac- 
curate. At  all  events,  there  is  no  scripture  evidence  that 
Peter  ever  was  at  Rome.  —  But,  in  the  second  place,  if  he 
ever  was,  there  is  no  record  of  his  being  Pope,  and  appoint- 
ing a  successor ;  and  we  know  that,  in  certain  points,  the 
present  Pope  does  not  look  like  his  successor.  The  apostle 
Peter  was  a  married  man ;  the  Scriptures  speak  of  his 
"wife's  mother"  being  ill ;  to  be  a  complete  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  you  must  have  every  jot  and  tittle  of  St.  Peter's  char- 
acter, and  circumstances,  and  position ;  but  by  a  law  of  the 


"WHAT    IS    POPERY?  97 

Church  of  Rome,  (a  law,  I  admit,  belonging  to  its  discipline,) 
celibacy  is  enforced  upon  its  clergy ;  and,  therefore,  in  one 
point  at  least,  the  Pope  of  Rome  cannot  be  the  successor  of 
Peter.  Certainly  in  one  respect  the  Popes  may  be  called 
his  successors  :  Peter  denied  his  Lord  and  Master,  and  con- 
firmed the  denial  with  an  oath;  and  this  succession  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  sacredly  cherished  and  fearfully  devel- 
oped, in  every  age  of  the  existence  of  that  deep  and  dark 
"  mystery  of  iniquity."  Would  to  God  that  she  may  one 
day  succeed  Peter  in  his  repentance,  and  return  to  Christ, 
to  faithfulness,  to  suffering  for  the  truth ! 

I  have  thus  laid  before  you  what  may  be  called  the  most 
prominent  points  of  Popery  —  or,  if  that  expression  is 
objected  to,  Roman  Catholicism  —  in  its  articles  of  faith,  as 
these  are  embodied  in  the  Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IX. 


LECTURE     IV. 

IS     TRACTARIANISM     POPERY? 

I  NOW  proceed  to  discharge  what  I  feel  to  be  a  far  more 
painful  portion  of  my  duty.  I  grieve  that  I  should  be  con- 
strained to  make  one  single  remark  upon  those  we  would 
otherwise  rejoice  to  hail  as  Christian  brethren ;  but  I  feel 
that  truth  is  even  more  precious  than  friendship,  ajid  that 
the  purity  of  our  most  holy  faith  is  far  dearer  than  even  the 
most  unbroken  and  uninterrupted  peace.  If  the  alternative 
be  whether  we  shall  sacrifice  peace  or  truth,  both  precious 
and  inestimable  in  their  proper  places,  we  must  have  not 
one  moment's  hesitation  in  sacrificing  peace,  rather  than  let 
go  truth.  Truth  is  the  root  or  stem ;  peace  is  but  the  blos- 
som that  waves  upon  the  branch ;  let  the  blossom  be  torn 
off,  and  the  stem  will  hear  the  accents  of  returning  spring, 
and  give  forth  other  and  no  less  beautiful  blossoms  ;  but  if 
the  stem  be  cut  down,  and  the  roots  torn  up,  no  revisit  of  a 
quickening  spring  will  make  blossom  or  fruit  appear  again. 

You  have  heard  what  Popery  is,  as  stereotyped  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church ;  I  must  now  lay  before  you  what 
is  the  Popery  disseminated,  I  grieve  to  say,  by  men  that 
wear  the  robes  and  eat  the  bread  of  a  Protestant  Church ; 
men  distinguished  for  their  talents,  and  some  of  them  foi 
their  erudition  —  and  heretofore  no  less  distinguished  for  the 
consistency  of  their  outward  walk  in  the  world  —  but 
branded  and  chargeable,  I  solemnly  believe,  with  the  most 
desperate  and  decided  effort  ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
the  Church,  to  extinguish  the  principles  which  have  been 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POPERY?  99 

sealed  with  the  blood  of  martyrs,  and  to  bring  in  a  deluge 
of  soul-destrojing  errors,  for  the  designation  of  which  guilt 
no  language  is  sufficiently  strong.  I  have  carefully  selected, 
from  the  writings  and  other  documents  of  these  individuals, 
their  leading  sentiments ;  and  as  you  have  heard  pure 
Popery,  as  it  is  taught  and  practised  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  you  will  see  now,  by  the  following 
quotations,  that  the  whole  difference  between  what  are  called 
the  Tractarians  of  England  and  the  Papists  of  the  Vatican, 
is  solely  in  the  matter  of  consistency.  The  Roman  Catholics 
consistently  carry  out  their  principles  to  their  full  extent* 
Drs.  Pusey,  Hook,*  and  others,  keep  their  principles  in 
reserve,  waiting  for  the  occasion  when  they  may  be  devel- 
oped with  impunity,  and  taught  beneath  the  auspices  of 
authority  and  influence,  at  present  not  fully  upon  their  side. 
I  will  take,  first,  their  views  of  the  Rule  of  Faith.  With 
Protestants,  the  Bible  alone  is  the  rule  of  faith ;  and  I  may 
observe,  that  much  of  the  safety  of  the  Protestant  Church 
lies,  under  God,  in  the  unimpaired  maintenance  of  this  car- 
dinal principle.  Within  the  boards  of  the  Bible,  you  are  on 
a  Protestant  and  impregnable  foundation ;  but  go  beyond 
them,  for  one  single  article  of  your  creed,  and  you  are  on 
Popish  ground  —  aye,  it  may  be  on  an  inclined  plane,  and 
you  neea  not  be  surprised  if  you  soon  find  yourself  in  the 
gulf  of  the  great  Western  Apostasy.  The  rule  of  faith  given 
by  Dr.  Newman  while  in  the  Protestant  Churchf  is  in  these 
words,  in  his  Lectures  on  Romanism,  pp.  327,  343 :  "  These 
two,  the  Bible  and  tnidition  together,  make  up  a  joint  rule 
of  faith  : "  again,  "  Where  the  sense  of  Sacred  Scripture,  as 
interpreted  by  reason,  is  contrary  to  the  sense  given  to  it  by 
Catholic  antiquity,  we  ought  to  side  with  the  latter,"  p.  160. 

*  See  his  Church  Dictionary. 

t  Mr.  Kewman  has  consistently  of  late  passed  into  the  Romish  Church. 
So  too  have  Messrs.  Ward,  Faber,  and  others.  Soo  too  will  many  of  thosf 
Trho  hold  their  views,  but  axe  deficient  in  their  courage  and  consistency. 


100  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Professor  Keble,  in  his  Sermons,  third  edition,  p.  8k,  says, 
"  The  rule  of  faith  is  made  up  of  Sacred  Script  are  and  tra- 
dition together.  The  British  Critic^*  once  the  great  organ 
of  the  party,  speaks  thus  :  "  The  Bible  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
Church,  to  be  dealt  with  in  such  a  way  as  the  Church  shall 
consider  best  for  the  expression  of  her  own  mind  at  the 
time.  —  (British  Critic,  No.  LX.  p.  453.)  In  other  words, 
the  Bible  is  a  mere  nose  of  wax,  to  be  shaped,  and  moulded, 
and  directed,  by  a  convenient  phantom  that  has  never  yet 
been  defined  or  condensed,  called  the  Church,  as  may  be 
most  palatable  to  her  taste,  and  best  suit  the  expediency  of 
the  moment.  And  again  says  The  British  Critic,  "  There 
is  altogether  sufficient  evidence,  independent  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  that  the  apostles  taught  as  divine  and  neces- 
sary certain  doctrines,  and  inculcated  as  essential  certain 
practices."  I  say.  There  is  not;  and  we  defy  them  to 
produce  evidence,  and  to  prove  any  such  thing. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  is  interesting:  "Dur- 
ing Lent,  it  is  the  custom  for  the  best  preachers  at  Rome  to 
preach  every  day  in  the  week,  except  Saturday.  On  one 
occasion,  the  last  season  of  Lent,  the  Padre  Grossie,  w^ho 
was  remarkable  for  his  eloquence,  was  preaching  in  the 
Jesuits'  Church.  His  sermon  was  on  the  advantages  of  the 
Roman  Church,  and  the  danger  of  schism.  After  a  pas- 
sionate appeal  to  the  Greeks,  urging  them  without  delay  to 
enter  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  Papal  Church,  he  concluded 
with  the  following  appeal  to  the  Puseyites :  '  There  is  yet 
a  class  of  persons,  very  numerous,  whom  I  would  wish  to 
address,  although  I  fear  that  there  may  be  none  here ;  still, 
perchance  should  there  be  any,  to  them  I  turn :  0  Pusey^ 
ites  !  what  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  Tou  know  that  you  are  not 
Protestants,  and  we  know  you  are  not  Catholics :  you  are 
much  nearer  to  us  than  them.     Why  will  you  not  come 

*  This  Review  became  so  purely  Popish,  that  it  was  suppressed  for  the 
sake  of  appearances. 


IS    TRACTATIIANISM    POPERY?  101 

over  entirely  to  us?  The  Mother  Church  has  been  long 
waiting,  with  open  arms,  to  receive  you ;  and  the  Holy 
Virgin,  with  extended  arms,  is  ready  to  embrace  you. 
Why  do  you  longer  waver  in  the  declaration  of  your  faith  ? 
Why  do  you  not  make  the  piccolo  pass  which  separates  you 
from  us?'"  The  friend  who  related  this,  said  he  could 
swear  that  these  were  the  very  words  of  the  Padre,  or  the 
full  sense. 

Dr.  Newman  wrote,  respecting  Scripture,  in  his  Lectures 
on  Romanism,  p.  325,  "We  have  as  little  warrant  for  neg- 
lecting ancient  consent,  as  for  neglecting  Scripture  itself." 
"  We  agree  with  the  Romanist,  in  appealing  to  antiquity  as 
our  great  teacher."  Immediately  after  these  purely  Papal 
announcements,  and  almost  in  the  very  language  of  Popish 
Councils,  we  are  favored  with  Tractarian  views  of  Bible 
circulation  — "  Scripture  was  never  intended  to  teach  doc- 
trine to  the  many ! ! " 

As  if  to  plunge  our  population  in  the  gulf  of  Infidelity, 
should  they  fail  in  precipitating  the  Church  of  England  into 
the  Papacy,  this  writer  —  then  a  Minister  of  the  Church  — 
then  a  Fellow  of  the  University  of  Oxford  —  stated,  "  The 
Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  Incarnation,  and  others 
similar  to  them,  are  the  true  interpretations  of  the  notices 
(  ! !  )  contained  in  Scripture,  of  these  doctrines  respectively." 
"  To  accept  Revelation  at  all,  we  have  but  probability  to 
show,  at  most ;  nay,  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  an  intelli- 
gent Creator." 

These  nre  the  painful  proofs  of  the  spread  of  Popery. 
The  progress  of  undisguised  Popery  was  as  scattered  clouds, 
either  growing  and  dissolving,  or  driven  by  the  winds  ;  but 
this  progression  looks  like  an  evening  twilight  that  deepens 
every  minute,  and  threatens  to  issue  in  a  moonless  and  star- 
less night. 

I  will  now  refer  to  the  Tractarian  views  of  the  Eucharist, 
9* 


102  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

which  go  the  length  of  Transubstantiatwn*  "  It  is  literally 
true,  the  consecrated  bread  is  Christ's  body :  so  that  there 
is  a  real  super-local  presence  in  the  Holy  Sacrament." 
Tract  90.  Keble,  in  his  Preface  to  Hooker,  says,  "  Anti- 
quity continually  affirms  the  change  of  the  sacred  elements." 
Tract  85  says,  "  If  baptism  be  a  cleansing  and  quickening 
of  the  dead  soul,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
Christ's  ministers  work  miracles."  And  Tract  86  contains 
these  words :  "  A  happy  omission  it  is  from  the  Communion 
Service,  of  a  half  ambiguous  expression  against  the  real 
and  essential  presence  of  Christ's  natural  body  at  the  com- 
munion." 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  great  doctrine  of  Justification. 
Dr.  Newman,  in  his  Lectures  on  Justification,  page  167, 
stated,  "  Christ  is  our  righteousness,  by  dwelling  in  us  by 
the  Spirit ;  he  justifies  us  by  entering  into  us,  he  continues 
to  justify  us  by  remaining  in  us."  I  am  sure,  no  well  in- 
structed Christian  would  commit  so  unscriptural  a  blunder. 
Justification  is  Christ's  righteousness  imputed  to  us  ;  sancti- 
fication  is  the  Holy  Spirit  working  within  us.  Justification 
is  an  act,  whereby  we  are  made  righteous  in  the  sight  of 
God ;  sanctification  is  a  work,  whereby  we  are  renewed  in 
the  image  of  God  more  and  more.  Dr.  Newman,  ignorantly 
or  designedly,  confounds  them.  Dr.  Pusey  also  agrees  with 
Dr.  Newman,  in  his  Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  :  "  The 
Anglican  Doctrine  conceives  Justification  to  be,  not  imputa- 

*  In  his  sermon  on  the  Eucharist,  Dr.  Pusey  has  furnished  a  melancholy 
proof  of  the  depth  to  which  the  Romish  taint  has  sunk  in  his  inmost  con- 
victions. His  too  notorious  Sermon  has  all  the  heresy  without  the  honesty 
of  transubstantiation.  While  this  sermon  proves  the  rapid  progresi  of  its 
author  in  "  Catholic  views,"  it  has  at  the  same  time  furnished  to  the  heads 
of  the  University  of  Oxford  an  opportunity,  of  which  they  have  availed 
themselves,  of  declaring  their  disapprobation  of  the  Tractaran  system 
See  also  Dodsworth's  Letter  to  Dr.  Pusey.  Either  it  is  a  libel  on  the  Doo 
tor,  or  the  Doctor  is  a  Roman  Catholic. 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POrERY  ?  103 

tion  merely,  but  the  act  of  God's  imparting  his  Divine  pres- 
ence to  the  soul  through  baptism." 

Let  us  next  hear  the  Tractators*  views  of  the  Atonement. 
Tract  80  says,  "  The  prevailing  notion  of  bringing  forward 
the  atonement  explicitly  and  prominently  on  all  occasions, 
is  evidently  quite  opposed  to  what  we  consider  the  teaching 
of  Scripture."  How  the  writer  can  have  made  this  state- 
ment, with  the  full  knowledge  of  Scripture,  is  to  me  surpris- 
ing; for  you  will  recollect,  when  the  Apostle  Paul  sums  up 
the  doctrines  which  he  had  taught  to  the  Corinthian  Church, 
he  introduces  the  recapitulation  of  his  theology  by  the  beau- 
tiful statement  —  "  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all,  how  that 
Christ  died  for  our  sins."  And  yet  Tract  80  says,  that  the 
Scriptures  do  not  bring  forward  the  atonement  "  first  of  all ;" 
that  is  a  doctrine  to  be  kept  in  "  reserve,"  and  only  to  be 
taught  to  the  faithful  amid  the  esoteric  mysteries  of  their 
(so  called)  Christian  faith. 

With  respect  to  the  Invocation  of  Saints ^  Tract  71  speaks 
thus:  "When  it  is  said  that  the  saints  cannot  hear  our 
prayers,  unless  God  reveals  them  to  them,  we  are  certainly 
using  an  unreal,  because  an  unscriptural  argument."  We 
read  in  Tract  90,  "  The  practice,  not  the  theory  of  the  invo- 
cation of  saints,  should  be  considered  in  reference  to  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  meaning,  that  it  is  only  the  grosser  ex- 
cesses of  practice  that  amount  to  idolatry.  Again,  says  the 
writer,  "  The  Tridentine  decree  declares,  that  it  is  good  and 
useful  suppliantly  to  invoke  the  saints  ; "  quoting  it,  appar- 
ently, as  an  example  for  imitation. 

In  the  sixth  place,  Worship  of  Images.  "  The  words  of 
the  Tridentine  decree,"  then  wrote  Dr.  Newman,  "  that  the 
images  of  Christ  and  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  the  other 
saints,  should  ^  receive  due  honor  and  veneration,'  go  to  the 
very  verge  of  what  could  be  received  by  the  cautious  Chris- 
tian, though  possibly  admitting  of  an  honest  interpretation. 
There  was  a  primitive  doctrine  on  all  these  points,  so  widely 


104  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

received  and  so  respectably  supported,  that  it  may  bu  vtell 
entertained  as  a  matter  of  opinion  by  every  theologian 
now." 

Let  us  turn  to  the  marriage  or  Celibacy  of  the  Clergy. 
"  That  the  Church  has  power,"  said  Dr.  Newman,  "  to 
oblige  the  clergy  either  to  marriage  or  to  celibacy,  would 
seem  to  be  involved  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Homilies."  "  As 
far  as  clerical  celibacy  is  a  duty,  it  is  grounded  not  on  God's 
law,  but  on  the  Church's  rule."  I  believe  that  their  hene- 
fices  and  their  wives  are,  with  not  a  few  of  the  Tractarians, 
the  sole  obstructions  to  visible  union  with  Rome. 

Again  :  "  The  age  is  moving  towards  something ;  and 
most  unhappily,"  according  to  Dr.  Newman,  in  his  Letter  to 
Dr.  Jelf,  "  the  one  religious  communion  which  has  of  late 
years  been  practically  in  possession  of  that  something,  is  the 
Church  of  Rome.  She  alone,  amid  all  the  errors  and  the 
evils  of  her  practical  system,  has  given  free  scope  to  the 
feelings  of  awe,  reverence,  tenderness,  devoutness,  and  other 
feelings,  which  may  be  especially  called  Catholic."  The 
British  Critic  for  July,  1841,  wrote,  "  We  trust  that  active 
and  visible  union  with  the  See  of  Rome  is  not  of  the  es- 
sence of  a  church,"  —  as  much  as  to  say.  We  believe  it  to 
be  highly  conducive  to  the  well-being  of  a  church,  but  we 
trust  it  ib  not  absolutely  essential ;  —  "at  the  same  time  we 
are  deeply  conscious,  that  in  lacking  it,  far  from  asserting  a 
right,  we  forego  a  great  privilege.  We  are  estranged  from 
her  in  presence,  not  in  heart."  This  is  as  true  a  statement 
as  Dr.  Newman  ever  uttered.  "  The  great  object  thus  mo- 
mentous," continues  the  same  British  Critic,  "  is  the  unprot- 
estantizing  of  the  National  Church."  And  again  says  the 
same  writer,  "  We  must  go  backward  or  forward,  and  it  will 
surely  be  the  latter ;  as  we  go,  we  must  recede  more  and 
more  from  the  principles,  if  any  such  there  be,  of  the  Eng- 
lish Reformation."  I  believe  that  this  is  one  of  the  most 
sensible,  but  one  of  the  most  ominous  remarks,  ever  made 


IS   TRACTARIANISM   POPERY?  105 

by  the  party.  I  fear  a  disastrous  number  of  the  clergy  of  a 
Church  once  distinguished  by  its  scholarship,  illustrious  for 
its  martyrs,  venerable  for  its  liturgy,  and  many  a  day  (as  I 
believe)  for  its  primitive  and  apostolic  piety,  are  at  this  mo- 
ment in  such  a  position,  that  they  must  either  go  onward 
and  land  in  the  arms  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  or  they 
must  retrace  the  steps  they  have  taken,  eat  up  the  proposi- 
tions they  have  announced,  and  cling  to  the  ancient,  scrip- 
tural, and  evangelical  religion  —  the  great  and  truly  primi- 
tive deposit  of  which  is  the  word  of  God.  "  The  Reforma- 
tion, that  deplorable  schism."  "  The  Reformation,  is  the 
scandalous  and  crying  sinful  schism  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury." "  As  to  the  Reformers,  1  think  worse  and  worse  of 
them."     "  Jewel  was  an  irreverent  Dissenter."     Alas  ! 

You  have  heard  how  they  write  of  the  Church  of  Rome ; 
speaking  of  her  in  almost  sensual  terms,  as  their  dear  moth- 
er; longing  for  active  and  visible  union  and  communion 
with  her,  and  grieving  that  they  are  severed  from  that  centre 
of  unity.  Let  us  hear  how  they  speak  of  Dissenters.  I 
quote  from  Mr.  Palmer,  whose  zeal  for  Rome,  and  antipathy 
to  Episcopal  as  well  as  Presbyterian  Protestantism,  is  per- 
fectly glowing.  "  The  very  breath  of  the  Protestantism  of 
Dissenters  has  something  sulphureous  in  it,  and  is  full  of 
self-assumption  and  pride."  So  well  have  they  learned  the 
spirit  of  cursing,  distinctive  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  that  Mr. 
Palmer  says,  "  Anathema  to  Protestantism."  "  We  firmly 
believe,"  says  The  British  Critic,  "that  the  very  tone  of 
thought  of  Protestantism  is  essentially  antichristian."  Again : 
"  Protestantism  is,  in  all  its  bearings,  the  religion  of  corrupt 
human  nature." 

Let  us  contrast  with  this  the  way  in  which  they  speak, 
in  Tract  71,  of  "the  majesty  of  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,"  and 
"Rome's  high  gifts,  and  strong  claims  to  our  admiration, 
love,  and  gratitude."  They  say,  "  We  sigh  to  be  one  again 
with  her."     They  say  that  she  alone  has,  of  late  years,  been 


106  THE    GREA.T   APOSTASY. 

practically  in  possession  of  the  deep  and  true ;  and  we  must 
at  present,  for  want  of  assimilation  to  her,  speaking  of  the 
Anghcan  Church,  "work  in  chains."  Dr.  Pusey  says,  "We 
are  a  living,  though  a  torn  member  of  the  one,  true,  Catholic, 
and  Apostolic  body."  "  Already,"  he  observes  again,  "  an 
earnest  has  been  given  ;  and  the  almost  electrical  rapidity 
with  which  these  principles  are  confessedly  passing  from 
one  breast  to  another,  and  from  one  end  of  England  to 
another,  the  sympathy  which  they  find  in  the  sister  or 
daughter  Churches  in  Scotland  and  America,  might  well 
make  men  suspect  that  there  is  more  than  human  agency  at 
work."  I  quite  agree  with  him  ;  I  believe  there  is  in  it  the 
agency  of  Satan,  as  "  an  angel  of  light,"  corrupting  men's 
hearts,  perverting  men's  principles,  unhinging  men's  hopes, 
and  leading  them,  while  Protestants  in  name,  to  be  thorough 
Papists  in  principle,  the  victims  and  the  asserters  of  a  soul- 
destroying  superstition. 

"  It  ought  not  to  be  for  nothing,"  says  one  of  these  writers, 
in  Sermons  for  the  Times,  "  nor  for  any  thing  short  of  some 
vital  truth,  some  truth  not  to  be  rejected  without  fatal  error, 
that  persons  of  name  and  influence  should  venture  on  the 
part  of  ecclesiastical  agitators,  intrude  upon  the  peace  of  the 
contented,  and  raise  doubts  in  the  minds  of  the  uncomplain- 
ing. All  this  has  been  done,  and  all  this  is  worth  hazarding 
again  in  a  matter  of  life  and  death ;  and  this  matter  we  be- 
lieve to  be  (to  use  an  offensive,  but  forcible  expression)  the 
unprotestanizing  of  the  National  Church.  As  we  go  on,  we 
must  recede  more  and  more  from  the  principles  of  the  Eng- 
lish Reformation." 

And  now  hear  what  is  said  of  their  movements  by  an  indi- 
vidual one  would  suppose  to  be  a  very  fair  judge.  Cardinal 
Wiseman  thus  writes  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  in  refer- 
Cxice  to  the  Tractarians  of  Oxford :  "  It  seems  to  me,"  says 
that  wily  and  able  person,  "  impossible  to  read  the  works  of 
the  Oxford  divines,  and  especially  to  follow  them  chronologi- 


IS    TRACTARIANISM   POPERY?  107 

cally,  without  discovering  a  daily  approach  towards  our  holy 
Church,  both  in  doctrine  and  in  affectionate  feeling.  Our 
saints,  our  popes,  have  become  dear  to  them  by  little  and 
little  ;  our  rites,  our  ceremonies,  our  offices,  yea  our  rubrics 
are  precious  in  their  eyes  —  far,  alas  !  beyond  what  many  of 
us  consider  them.  Our  monastic  institutions,  our  charitable 
and  educational  provisions,  have  become  more  and  more 
objects  with  them  of  earnest  study ;  and  every  thing,  in  fine, 
that  concerns  our  religion,  deeply  interests  their  attention. 
I  need  not  ask  you,  whether  they  ought  to  be  met  with  any 
other  feeling  than  sympathy,  kindness,  and  offers  of  coopera- 
tion. Ought  we  to  sit  down  coldly  while  such  sentiments 
are  breathed  in  our  hearing,  and  not  rise  up  to  bid  the 
mourner  have  hope?  Are  we,  who  sit  in  the  full  light,  to 
see  our  friends  feeling  their  way  towards  us  through  the 
gloom  that  surrounds  them,  faltering  for  want  of  an  out- 
stretched hand,  or  turning  astray  for  want  of  a  directing 
voice ;  and  sit  on  and  keep  silent,  amusing  ourselves  at  their 
painful  efforts  ?  "  Thus  Oscott  and  Oxford  pull  all  in  one 
direction. 

Let  me  quote  one  or  two  passages  more,  illustrative  of 
their  principles,  for  I  desire  to  make  them  well  known. 
"  We  may  be  as  sure,"  says  one  of  them  in  Tract  10,  "  that 
the  bishop  is  Christ's  representative,  as  if  we  actually  saw 
upon  the  bishop's  head  'a  cloven  tongue  like  as  of  fire.' 
In  the  act  of  Confirmation,  the  bishop  is  our  Lord's  figure 
and  likeness,  when  he  laid  his  hands  on  children ;  and  what- 
ever we  ought  to  do,  had  we  lived  when  the  apostles  were 
alive,  the  same  ought  we  to  do  for  the  bishops.  He  that  de- 
spiseth  the  bishop,  despiseth  the  apostles.  This  is  faith,  to 
look  at  things  as  not  seen,  but  as  unseen."  "  It  is  from  the 
bishop,  that  the  news  of  redemption  and  the  means  of  grace 
are  all  come  to  us." 

"  Once  more,"  says  Professor  Sewell,  in  his  Morals,  p.  27, 


108  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

a  book  of  great  talent,  but  of  a  truly  dangerous  description, — 
"  once  more,  these  powers  of  the  Church  are  very  great ; 
they  are  even  awful :  if  not  conferred  by  God,  they  are 
blasphemously  assumed  by  man.  The  power  of  communi- 
cating to  man  the  Divine  nature  itself,  of  bringing  down  the 
Deity  from  heaven,  and  infusing  his  Spirit  into  the  souls  of 
miserable  mortals  —  this,  w^hich  is  nothing  more  than  the 
every-day  promise  of  the  Church,  proclaimed  and  adminis- 
tered by  every  minister  of  the  Church,  every  time  he  stands 
at  the  font  or  ministers  at  the  altar,  is  so  awful  and  so  tre- 
mendous, that  we  scarcely  dare  to  read  it,  except  in  familiar 
words  which  scarcely  touch  the  ear." 

You  will  find  their  principles  carried,  not  to  the  verge, 
but  beyond  the  verge,  of  persecution.  In  speaking  of  other 
Churches,  whether  the  Dissenting,  Reformed,  Scotch,  or 
Continental,  Frowde  says :  "  To  dispense  with  episcopal 
ordination,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  surrender  of  the  Christian 
priesthood ;  and  the  attempt  to  substitute  any  other  form  of 
ordination  for  it,  or  to  seek  communion  with  Christ  through 
any  non-episcopal  association,  is  to  be  regarded,  not  as  a 
schism  merely,  but  as  an  impossibility."  "  Christ,"  says 
Tract  51,  "appointed  the  Church  as  the  only  way  \q  heaven." 
Strange  and  unscriptural  announcement!  for  the  Son  of 
God  has  said,  "/am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life ;  no 
man  cometh  to  the  Father,  but  by  Me."  Again,  Mr.  Palmer 
says :  "  We  readily  admit,  or  rather  most  firmly  maintain, 
that  all  sects  or  denominations,  even  supposing  them  to  hold 
what  are  called  fundamental  doctrines,  are  not  included  in 
the  Church  of  Christ;  all  the  temporal  enactments  and 
powers  of  the  whole  world  could  not  cure  this  fault,  nor  ren- 
der the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland  a  portion  of  the  Church 
of  Christ.  It  is  a  most  indubitable  doctrine,  that  schismatics, 
even  though  they  hold  no  error  of  faith,  are,  by  the  fact 
alone  of  their  schism,  out  of  the  Church,  and  beyond  the 


IS    TRACTARIANISM   POPERY?  109 

pale  of  salvation."  *  By  way  of  showing  the  nearness  of 
these  views  to  those  of  Popery,  we  quote  a  llomish  Profes- 
sor's views  :  "  We  must,  of  necessity,  hold  that  no  heretics, 
whom  the  Church  has  rejected  from  her  bosom,  belong  to 
her  body ;  and  for  that  very  reason  must  hope  for  no  salva- 
tion." —  Delahogue. 

Dr.  Pusey  says :  "  Thus  the  power  of  expounding,  de- 
creeing, ordaining,  implies  that  the  Church's  children  are  to 
receive  her  exposition,  and  obey  her  decrees,  and  accept  her 
authority  in  controversies  of  the  faith.  And  the  appeal  lies 
not  to  their  private  judgment;  they  are  not  the  arbiters 
whether  she  pronounce  rightly  or  no  ;  for  what  sort  of  de- 
cree or  authority  were  that,  which  every  one  were  first  to 
judge,  and  then,  if  his  judgment  coincided  with  the  law,  to 
obey  ?  "  "  *  If  I  be  a  father,' "  continues  Dr.  Pusey  —  apply- 
ing the  text  in  Malachi  to  the  Church  —  "  *  if  I  be  a  father, 
where  is  mine  honor  ?  and  if  I  be  a  master,  where  is  my 
fear?'"  Then  The  British  Critic  remarks,  "*Let  every 
man  abide  in  the  same  calling  wherein  he  was  called.'  We 
consider,  that  when  private  judgment  moves  in  the  direction 
of  innovation,  it  may  be  regarded  with  suspicion,  and  treated 
with  severity.  We  repeat  it :  If  persons  have  strong  feelings, 
they  ought  to  pay  for  them  ;  if  they  think  it  a  duty  to  unsettle 
things  established,  they  should  show  their  earnestness  hy 
being  willing  to  suffer.'*  You  see  how  the  spirit  of  Popery 
necessarily  generates  the  spirit  of  persecution.  "  Not  only 
is  the  Church  catholic,  she  is  indefectible  in  it ;  and,  there- 
fore, not  only  has  she  authority  to  enforce  it,  but  is  of 
authority  in  declaring  it." 

I  trust  —  I  believe  —  the  Christian  people  of  this  Eng- 

*  One  of  the  best  proofs  of  the  unchristian  and  even  undignified  senti- 
ments of  these  doctrines  may  be  seen  in  "  Dr.  Hook's  Church  Dictionary," 
under  such  heads  as  "  Presbyterians,  Independents,  Wesleyans,"  etc.  etc. 
One  wonders  at  such  want  of  ordinary  moderation.  I  hope  it  is  a  true 
report  that  Dr.  Hook  is  retracing  his  steps. 

10 


110  Tllli    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

land  of  ours  are  not  to  be  cajoled  or  frightened  into  Popery. 
The  experience  of  ancient  days  lifts  up  its  voice,  and  with 
tears  adjures  them  to  be  faithful  to  God,  loyal  to  conscience, 
obedient  to  Scripture.  History  with  its  thousand  tongues, 
and  Holy  Scripture  with  its  one,  unite  in  proclaiming  that 
no  greater  curse  can  light  upon  our  shores  than  Romish 
superstition,  and  no  more  dangerous  enemies  appear  in  our 
ranks  than  Popish  Jesuits.  Chartism  is  open  brute  force, 
and  may  be  avoided  or  crushed;  but  Tractarianism,  or 
Puseyism,  is  a  jDCstiferous  malaria  that  infects  and  kills  — 
a  canker-worm  at  the  very  root  of  our  Protestant  faith  —  a 
dry-rot,  devouring  England's  Church. 

It  is  well  known,  that  when  the  "  Tracts  for  the  Times  " 
were  frowned  on  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  in  which  they 
appeared  —  not,  as  far  as  appeared,  because  he  objected  to 
their  main  principles,  but  because  he  deprecated  the  confu- 
sion and  disturbance  which  they  generated,  —  these  Tracta- 
rian  priests  showed  their  long  vaunted  protest  of  submission 
to  their  superior  by  instantly  starting  the  very  same  series 
of  works  under  a  new  nomenclature,  substituting  "  Sermons  " 
for  "  Tracts,"  and  christening  them  ''  Sermons  for  the  Times." 
From  Jesuits  this  might  have  been  looked  for,  but  certainly 
not  from  those  whose  professed  subjection  to  superiors 
seemed  so  reverential  and  entire.  In  the  first  of  these  Ser- 
mons we  read,  that  the  church  (that  is,  the  sacred  office)  is 
not  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  at  all ;  that  unconverted 
men  have  no  business  within  its  four  walls ;  that  it  is  soleli/ 
for  the  worship  of  God,  and  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments and  rites  of  the  Church. 

"  The  time  was,"  we  read  in  the  first  of  these,  "  when  the 
distorted  visages  on  the  outer  walls  of  God's  house  spoke  of 
the  misery  of  those  who  were  excluded  from  saintly  privi- 
leges; and  the  unclean  beasts"  (that  is,  Roman  cement 
beasts)  "  raging  Avithout,  showed  their  fruitless  attempt  to 
find  a  place  within.     The  ancient  churches  were  built  up 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    TOPERY  ?  Ill 

from  the  foundation  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  to  teach  the  im- 
portant lesson,  that  it  was  by  the  way  of  sorrow  and  suffer- 
ing that  we  could  come  to  that  joy  which  was  lasting  and 
divine.  The  arched  door  said,  *  I  am  the  way,'  pointing 
upwards  to  him.  The  arched  window  said,  *  I  am  the  light 
of  life,'  pointing  also  to  him  ;  while  the  painted  glass,  giving 
representations  of  the  saints,  subdued,  but  did  not  obstruct 
the  light,  and  taught  the  spiritualists  to  see  him  in  his  vari- 
ously manifested  likeness,  and  to  follow  them  as  they  fol- 
lowed Christ,  as  lights  in  the  way  to  glory.  The  baptismal 
font  in  the  porch,  or  at  the  entrance,  reminded  the  pre- 
sumptuous sinner,  that  even  the  child  of  days  must  be 
washed  before  he  could  be  received  into  the  sacred  courts ; 
and  the  prominent  yet  half  concealed  altar  spoke  of  mercy 
and  of  holiness,  of  majesty  and  of  condescension,  of  a  cru- 
cified Saviour  and  of  a  risen  and  reigning  Lord ;  inviting 
approach,  but  saying  at  the  same  time,  *  How  sacred  is  the 
banqueting  place  of  his  love,  and  how  fearful  in  holiness  is 
even  the  mercy-seat  of  GodT  The  body  of  the  church 
was  called  the  nave  (from  navis^  a  ship,)  as  the  antitype  of 
the  ark ;  tossed  about  on  the  sea  of  this  world,  and  exposed 
to  many  a  storm  and  blast,  but  still  the  only  place  of  safety. 
The  upper  part  was  called  the  choir,  and  shadowed  forth 
the  heavenly  mansions,  where  the  praises  of  God  are  sung 
without  ceasing ;  and  the  carved  work,  in  stall  and  canopy, 
loft  and  shrine,  window  and  door,  within  and  without,  repre- 
sented the  workmanship  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  new 
creation,  whose  hand  fashions  into  varied  forms  of  surpass- 
ing beauty  the  rude  material  of  nature.  Every  ornament 
w^as  wrought  into  the  form  of  a  cross ;  while  the  crocketed 
spire,  pinnacle,  and  point,  great  and  little,  stood  like  so 
many  fingers  silently  pointing  out  the  path  to  the  heaven- 
lies,  whither  Jesus  our  forerunner  has  gone  before." 

One  would  suppose  that  all  this,  no  doubt  picturesque  and 
«entimental,  was  a  representation  of  the  Temple  of  Solo- 


112  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

mon,  or  referred  to  some  typical  or  shadowy  era ;  and  had 
no  connection  with  that  perfect  and  glorious  dispensation, 
the  birthplace  of  which  was  the  grave  of  that  which  pre- 
ceded it,  and  whereof  the  grand  and  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic was  announced  by  our  Lord,  when  upon  the  cross  he 
said  of  all  type,  "  It  is  finished."  All  types  have  met  their 
antitype ;  all  symbols  and  shadows  have  been  submerged  in 
the  substance ;  Levi,  Moses,  and  their  ritual,  have  for  ever 
passed  away ;  "  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that  wor- 
ship HIM  must  worship  HIM  IN  SPIRIT  AND  IN  TRUTH." 

This  writer  goes  on  to  describe  "  the  house  of  God  in  the 
present  day,"  and  to  deplore  some  points  which  we  Protes- 
tants have  hitherto  thought  praiseworthy.  "It  is  without 
defence.  By  the  law  of  the  land,  its  doors  must  stand  open 
as  a  licensed  thoroughfare  for  the  uncircumcised  and  the 
unclean."  [I  thought  this  was  its  beauty  —  "  without  money 
and  without  price."]  "  Who,  of  this  generation,  imagines 
that  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart  are  God's  stipulated  quali- 
fications for  ascending  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  and  standing  in 
his  holy  place  ?  "  [Where  can  these  be  made  clean,  if  not 
in  "  the  fountain  "  preached  and  pointed  out  in  the  church  ?] 
"Alas,  alas !  the  penitent  is  no  longer  to  be  found  kneeling 
in  the  porch,  conscious  of  his  unworthiness  to  make  a  nearer 
approach  to  the  place  where  God's  name  is  recorded,  and 
where  his  honor  dwelleth ;  nor  the  publican  to  be  seen  afar 
off,  smiting  upon  his  breast  and  crying,  '  God  be  merciful 
to  me  a  sinner.'  The  wall  of  the  holy  place  has  been  trod- 
den down ;  and  without  a  sacrifice,  and  without  a  washing, 
and  without  a  change  of  vestment,  the  Gentiles  have  entered 
in  and  taken  possession,  as  if  it  were  their  proper  appointed 
court.  Who  may  not  come  and  take  a  seat  in  the  presence 
of  the  King  of  kings  ?  And  what  is  more  fearful  still. 
Who  is  not  invited  to  take  part  in  a  form  of  worship  which 
cannot  be  used  without  blasphemy  by  other  than  a  pious 
Boul  and  hallowed  lips  ?     The  very  purpose  of  God's  house 


IS    TRACTARIANIS3I   POPERY?  113 

is  perverted,  and  its  proper  work  can  hardly  be  said  to  be 
done  in  it.  Instead  of  the  fire  upon  the  altar,  and  the  lights 
of  the  sanctuary  continually  burning,  and  the  ministers 
waiting  upon  their  ministry  in  their  courses,  and  watching 
unto  prayer  as  God's  elect,  crying  day  and  night  unto  him, 
we  have  a  deserted  and  shut  up  house,  as  if  it  were  an 
honor  little  to  be  desired,  to  wait  upon  the  Lord.  The  ser- 
vice of  worship,  when  it  is  performed,  what  is  it?  The 
reading  of  a  beautiful  composition ;  the  uttering  of  words 
by  a  congregation  of  sinners,  which  they  do  not  understand, 
or  (with  an  occasional  exception)  a  lifeless  form  irreverently 
gone  through ;  and  to  consummate  the  whole,  the  sermon 
instead  of  having  for  its  purpose  the  edification  and  perfect- 
ing of  God's  saints,  is  an  address  to  sinners,  thereby  sanc- 
tioning their  unholy  intrusion  into  the  house  of  God." 
These  lamentations  belong  to  a  departed  economy.  They 
are  inappropriate,  or  rather  simply  heretical,  as  related  to 
the  Christian. 

Such  are  some  of  the  leading  views  and  sentiments  of  the 
Tractarian  piirty.* 

Suffer  me  now  to  draw  your  attention  to  some  proofs  of 
the  progress  of  these  deadly  principles  —  for  deadly  they 
are  —  in  the  age  in  which  we  live. 

Direct  Romanism  is  unquestionably  making  rapid  and 
extensive  progress :  t  partly  by  Protestants  being  unable  to 

♦  Not  a  few  of  those  who  have  been  quoted  in  these  pages  as  Tractarians 
ai-e  now  priests  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  They  denounced  the  first  com- 
ments of  the  author  on  their  position  in  1842,  —  they  have  illustrated  their 
truth  by  their  perversion  in  1851. 

t  The  organ  of  the  Romish  party,  TJie  Dublin  Review,  vrrites,  Septem 
ber,  1843:  — 

*'  There  is  at  this  moment  hardly  a  single  to\\Ti  in  the  kingdom  in  which 
the  Catholic  worship  is  not  publicly  exercised:  in  many  we  have  large 
and  beautiful  churches  —  witness  such  towns  as  Liverpool,  Manchester, 
Birmingham,  Nottingham,  Derby,  and  the  metropolis,  in  all  of  which  are 
Catholic  churches  of  great  magnitude  and  magnificence,  in  which  th« 
10* 


114  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

meet  the  sophisms  of  confraternity  emissaries,  or  to  give  a 
reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  them ;  partly  by  the  peculiar 
atmosphere  generated  by  the  Tractarianism  of  Exeter ;  and 
partly  by  the  prospect  (I  fear,  not  far  distant)  of  complete 
reunion  between  the  Vatican  and  Oxford,  the  Tiber  and  the 
Isis,  Pope  Pius  IX.  and  a  large  batch  of  disguised  but 
ardent  followers.  And,  with  respect  to  what  I  have  called 
Popery  in  the  bud,  or  in  embryo,  I  conceive  (and  I  say  it 
with  profound  reverence  for  the  doctrines,  discipline,  and 
service  of  the  Church  of  England),  that  the  principles  of 
the  Tractarians  are  as  deadly,  and  more  dangerous,  than  the 
openly  avowed  Popery  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Under  the 
assumption  of  Protestant  names,  they  are  introducing  the 
worst  principles  of  the  Church  of  Rome ;  "  the  voice  is  the 
voice  of  Jacob,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau ; "  the 

Catholic  worship  is  celebrated  with  the  solemnity  even  of  the  Continent; 
whilst  in  our  smaller  towns  we  have  churches  or  chapels,  which  equally 
bring  our  worship,  though  in  a  humbler  form,  before  the  eyes  of  our  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  enable  them  to  appreciate  its  sacred  doctrines.  Kor  is 
the  public  exhibition  of  Catholic  rites  found  now,  as  on  former  occasions, 
to  produce  a  Protestant  reaction  to  any  extent ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Pro- 
testant feeling  of  the  country  becomes  weaker  every  day. 

"  We  might  enlarge  upon  this  statement,  and  we  might  justly  speak  of 
the  Catholic  colleges  and  convents  which,  we  rejoice  to  say,  now  abound 
in  England ;  we  might  speak  of  the  kind  estimation  in  which  their  inmates 
are  generally  regarded  by  all  classes  of  the  community;  we  might  glory 
in  the  fact  that  their  reputation  is  drawing  towards  them  not  only  mem- 
bers of  our  own  Church,  but  many  able  and  pious  individuals  who  join  us 
from  Protestant  communions.  We  might  dwell  upon  the  religious  edifica- 
tion given  by  our  various  nunneries,  or  by  communities  of  men ;  such  as 
the  magnificent  establishments  of  the  Jesuits  at  Stonyhurst;  of  the  Bene- 
dictines; of  the  Cistercians,  at  St.  Bernard's  Abbey  in  Leicestershire;  ot 
the  Passionists,  at  Aston  in  Staffordshire;  or  of  the  Brothers  of  Charity, 
at  Loughborough  and  Sileby.  We  might  speak  of  the  restoration  of 
Catholic  guilds  and  pious  confraterniti'^s,  in  which  multitudes  of  the  laity 
are  united  together  for  the  holy  practice  of  more  frequent  prayer  and  a 
regular  reception  of  the  holy  sacraments.  In  fine,  we  might  dwell  upon 
the  large  number  of  individuals  who  are  daily  renouncing  the  negative 
system  of  Protef^tantism,  in  its  various  forms,  to  embrace  the  grand  and 
positive  truths  of  CathoUcism." 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POPERY?  115 

coin  is,  in  its  substance,  the  base  metal  of  the  Vatican,  but 
upon  it  they  have  struck  and  stamped  the  superscription  of 
a  Protestant  Church,  and  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Let  us  now  see  what  indications  there  are  of  the  progress 
they  are  making. 

If  I  refer  to  the  pulpits  of  the  Protestant  Church  of 
England,  I  grieve  beyond  measure  to  state  what  I  know  to 
be,  in  too  many  of  these,  the  painful  and  disastrous  exhibi- 
tion which  its  occupant  makes.  The  Diocese  of  Exeter 
has  been  corrupted  and  contaminated  to  a  fearful  extent. 
Mr.  Maskell,  lately  Chaplain  to  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  is 
simply  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  honest  of  the  body. 
The  name  Church,  instead  of  being  the  lofty  hill  on  which 
the  cross  should  shine  forth  effulgent  in  all  its  moral  and 
majestic  glory,  has  been  made  the  sepulchre  in  which  truth 
is  almost  utterly  entombed  ;  and  those  members  of  the 
priesthood  who  subscribe  to  the  Tractarian  sentiments  have 
made  their  gospel  the  screen  that  conceals  the  Saviour,  not 
the  bright  and  beautiful  apocalypse,  that  makes  known  "  the 
Light  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  his  people  Israel." 
Endless  genealogies,  and  changes  of  vestments,  and  forms 
and  ceremonies,  are  preached  and  paraded  instead  of  quick- 
ening truth;  while  souls  perish  for  want  of  living  bread, 
and  pass  to  the  judgment-seat  unrefreshed  by  those  living 
streams  which  alone  can  satiate  the  cravings  of  the  thirsty, 
and  give  peace  to  the  troubled,  and  happiness  and  hope  to 
the  despondent. 

These  principles  appear,  not  only  in  the  pulpit,  but  also 
in  the  desks  and  services  of  a  large  section  of  the  Church. 
The  Church  of  England  enjoys  a  beautiful  and  impressive 
service:  I  say  so  as  at  impartial  person,  not  being  per- 
mitted or  privileged  to  use  it.  Robert  Hall  said,  "  Though 
a  Protestant  Dissenter,  I  am  by  no  means  insensible  tc  its 
meiits.  I  believe  that  the  evangelical  purity  of  its  senti- 
ments, the  chastised  fervor  of  its  devotion,  and  the  majestic 


116  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

simplicity  of  its  language,  have  combined  to  place  it  in  the 
very  first  rank  of  uninspired  compositions."  But  I  am  sure, 
if  after  worshipping  with  Romaine,  or  Newton,  or  Cecil, 
you  were  to  come  into  some  of  the  churches  that  are  per- 
forming the  new  ceremonial,  —  into  St.  Paul's,  Wiltonplace, 
where  one  performs  ;  or  into  St.  Barnabas,  where  another 
acts,  —  you  would  feel  yourselves  utterly  at  sea.  At  one 
time  the  priest  is  seen  turning,  like  a  mufti,  to  the  east,  or 
like  a  heliotroi)e,  to  the  sun,  as  if  the  progress  of  that 
luminary  was  the  regulator  of  worship ;  anon  passing  from 
place  to  place,  making  varied  genuflections,  prostrations, 
etc.,  etc.,  and  seeming  to  estimate  the  glory  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, not  by  the  Saviour's  presence,  but  by  candelabras, 
and  crosses,  and  other  mummeries  imported  from  Babylon 
the  Great,  "the  mystery  of  iniquity."* 

These  principles  also,  I  have  recently  discovered,  are 
taught  with  an  assiduity  in  schools,  and  instilled  into  the 
infant  mind  with  a  deceptiveness,  a  subtlety,  and  a  power, 
which  cannot  fail  to  do  terrible  havoc.  I  obtained,  the 
other  day,  sixteen  shillings'  worth  of  small  school-books, 
written  by  Tractarians,  and  numbering  about  twenty-four 
little  volumes,  published  monthly  in  London,  and  a  few  at 
Oxford ;  from  these  I  will  give  you  a  specimen  of  the  p*^in- 
ciples  taught  to  children,  that  you  may  see  how  they  are 
preoccupying,  not  only  the  pulpit  and  the  press  —  taking 
the  form,  as  I  shall  show,  of  the  novel,  the  romance,  and 
the  poem  —  but  preoccupying  the  school-room  also,  with  an 
energy  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  and  rapidly  infecting  the 

*  A  writer  in  the  Eoman  Catholic  Dublin  Review  for  September,  1843, 
expresses  his  "gratitude  to  Mr.  Newman  for  his  volume  of  University- 
Sermons,  which  are  indeed  a  most  valuable  and  almost  Catholic  produc- 
tion. Mr,  Newman  has,  indeed,  in  this  volume,  rendered  a  high  service  to 
the  Catholic  Church;  and  in  saying  this  we  would  include  in  the  same 
catalogue  his  admirable  Essay  in  Defence  of  Ecclesiastical  Miracles.  No 
one  can  read  these  volumes,  and  not  see  that  the  triumph  of  Catholicism 
in  England  is  only  a  question  of  time." 


IS    TRACTARIANISM   POPERY?  117 

juvenile  population  of  the  land.  One  of  these  books  is 
entitled  "Little  Mary;"  and  this  is  published  at  Oxford, 
circulated  among  the  young,  and  meant  for  schools.  The 
following  conversation  occurs  at  pages  2  and  3:  — 

"  Mamma,  how  do  you  know  baby  is  in  heaven  ?  did  you 
tell  him  to  go  there  ? 

"  No,  I  did  not  tell  him  to  go  there ;  that  would  not  have 
answered  the  purpose ;  but  do  you  not  recollect,  a  long 
time  ago,  when  your  papa  and  myself  took  you  and  baby 
in  the  carriage  to  church,  and  when  the  second  lesson  was 
ended,  baby's  godfathers  and  godmothers  took  him  to  the 
font,  (that  large  stone  basin  which  was  full  of  water,)  and 
God's  holy  minister  took  him  in  his  arms,  and  poured  some 
of  the  water  upon  him,  and  prayed  for  him,  to  '  make  him 
a  member  of  Christ,  a  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ? ' 

"  Yes,  mamma,  I  remember  you  told  me  he  was  baptized, 
and  that  that  was  his  birthday  ;  I  know  the  day  —  not  the 
name  of  it,  for  you  have  not  taught  me  more  than  two  or 
three  of  the  days. 

"  It  was  All  Saints'  Day. 

"  Oh  !  yes,  it  was  All  Saints*  Day,  which  we  keep  when 
the  weather  is  very  cold. 

"  Ah  !  mamma,  I  know  God  would  make  the  baby  happy, 
and  be  kind  to  him.  It  was  very  good  of  you,  mamma, 
to  take  the  baby  and  me  to  church  to  make  us  children 
of  God ;  and  I  am  sure  I  was  baptized,  because  you  told 
me. 

"  Yes,  Mary,  you  were  baptized ;  but  it  was  not  only  out 
of  kindness  for  you,  but  from  obedience  to  God,  who  is  my 
Father  as  well  as  yours ;  for  I  was  baptized  when  a  baby. 
He  has  promised  the  baptized,  and  them  alone,  that  they 
-hall  be  saved  through  his  Son's  name." 

Such  is  tiie  instruction  for  the  nursery !  Again,  at  page 
15,  "  Her  mother  called  Mary  to  her,  whispered  something 


'fmmmmmimiillflllll^ 


118  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


in  her  ear,  and  then  took  her  little  finger,  and  with  it  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  on  her  forehead. 

"  Does  my  Mary  know  why  the  sign  of  the  cross  M^as 
made  upon  her  forehead,  when  she  was  baj^tized  ? 

"  Mary  stopped  crying,  but  did  not  speak.  Her  mother 
continued  —  Our  blessed  Saviour  bore  a  heavy  cross  for  our 
sakes ;  you  were  baptized  in  his  name,  and  by  the  sign  of 
the  cross  made  his  soldier." 

I  take,  next,  "  Conversations  with  Cousin  RacheL" 

"  B.  —  We  went,  two  or  three  girls  and  I,  to  hear  that 
famous  preacher  up  at  Zion  Chapel,  once  or  twice  in  the 
evening ;  but  I  can  tell  you,  I  would  not  let  it  stand  in  the 
way  of  any  thing  I  liked  to  do. 

"  M  —  Ann  and  I  do  like  going  to  church,  and  we  should 
be  very  sorry  to  miss  it. 

"A.  —  You  do  not  surely  mean,  Betsy,  that  you  went  to 
a  meeting-house  ! "  And,  in  another  place  it  is  said,  "  Go- 
ing to  Dissenters'  Meetings  is  much  worse  than  staying  at 
home  altogether."  This  is  another  sentiment  inculcated 
upon  the  minds  of  the  young ;  and  he  must  be  a  very  high 
Churchman  indeed,  who  holds  these  miserable  views. 

In  another  document  intended  for  the  tuition  of  the 
young,  the  name  of  Jesus  is  left  out ;  and  one  reason  ap- 
parently assigned  is,  that  it  is  too  dithcult  for  children  ;  but 
among  the  words  that  do  occur  in  it  are  —  transept,  altar, 
bishop,  cross,  choir ;  and  one  would  think  that  these  are  at 
least  as  difficult  as  that  "  Name,  which  sounds  so  sweet  in  a 
believer's  ear."  In  another  work  prepared  for  the  tuition 
of  the  young,  and  intended,  or  at  least  tending  to  prepare 
the  rising  generation  for  Popery,  we  read,  "  He  thought 
much,  and  for  his  age  deeply,  on  the  unconverted  state  of 
poor  Perdita,  on  whom  it  seemed  impossible  to  make  any 
favorable  impression.  Suddenly  it  darted  into  his  mind, 
that  Perdita  had  not  been  baptized  ;  and  this,  he  thought, 
might  be  the  cause  of  her  impenitency.    He  tried  to  remera- 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POPERY?  119 

ber  all  that  Father  Aiden  had  ever  told  him  concerning  the 
nature  and  object  of  baptism.  He  recollected  that  when  his 
little  brother  had  been  baptized,  the  father  had  spoken  of 
his  being  made  a  child  of  God,  and  of  his  having  a  new  na- 
ture given  him ;  and  so,  though  he  could  not  arrange  his 
ideas  on  this  important  subject  with  the  clearness  that  he 
wished,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  baptism  was  the 
great  thing  wanting  for  Perdita,  and  that  if  she  could  obtain 
it,  some  striking  change  would  immediately  take  place  in  her 
mind  and  disposition." 

And  again  it  is  stated,  that  "  such  high  privileges  are  only 
reserved  for  the  saints;"  and  then  the  question  is  asked, 
"  Who  are  the  saints  ?  "  "  They  are  what  we  call  very 
advanced  Christians,  what  the  Bible  calls  saints  for  their 
virtues."  The  Scripture  declaration  that  all  true  Christians 
are  saints  is  repudiated ;  and,  as  in  the  Church  of  Rome, 
they  alone  are  recognized  as  saints  who  have  been  duly 
canonized  and  registered  as  such  by  competent  ecclesiastical 
authority. 

But  not  only  are  these  principles  disseminated  in  the  pul- 
pit, in  the  desk,  and  in  schools ;  they  are  also  disseminated 
in  tracts.  Some  of  you,  who  are  old  enough  to  recollect  the 
founding  of  that  noble  institution,  the  Religious  Tract  Soci- 
ety,—  an  institution,  I  believe,  peculiarly  precious  and  im- 
portant now — will  remember  how  some  distinguished  di- 
vines and  clergy  scoffed  at  the  very  idea  of  tracts  ;  a  tract 
distributor  was  a  name  selected  in  order  to  designate  a 
Methodist,  or  a  Dissenter,  or  one  who  did  not  conform  to 
the  Established  Church.  But  at  last  the  Tractarians  per- 
ceived, what  we  rejoice  in,  that  tracts  are  instruments  of 
power :  they  have,  therefore,  determined  that  Popery  also 
shall  issue  its  tracts,  the  influence  of  which  shall  be  exerted 
in  favor  of  her  fatal  and  deadly  errors.  Tracts  once  were 
denounced  as  pieces  of  Puritanism.  Now,  however,  espe- 
cially if  published  at  Oxford,  or  by  "  Catholic"  booksellers, 
they  are  eminently  "  Catholic." 


120  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Another  very  remarkable  engine  which  they  have  set  in 
motion,  is  novels  and  romances ;  so  much  so,  that  there  is 
not  a  library  at  a  fashionable  watering-place,  which  has  not 
the  leading  works  of  this  type,  issued  by  the  Romanizing 
party.  They  used  to  speak  of  missionary  meetings  as  the- 
atrical—  as  conformities  to  the  world  —  as  altogether  in- 
compatible with  the  grandeur  of  Christian  bishops  and  the 
dignity  of  Christian  ministers.  It  is  now  found,  because  it 
subserves  the  purpose  of  these  fastidious  men,  that  novels 
and  romances  even  are  not  at  all  ineligible,  as  vehicles  of 
their  peculiar  principles ;  and  Parnassus  is  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  Oxford  and  of  Rome,  and  the  Muses  are  charmed 
from  their  celestial  choirs,  to  introduce  to  the  notice  of 
England's  free  men  the  polluting  principles  that  emanate 
from  the  Monks.* 

Another  method  vigorously  worked  is  the  periodical  press. 
The  British  Critic  (now  The  English  Review)  is  their  great 
quarterly  organ  ;  The  English  Churchman^  The  Guardian^ 
and   The   Christian  Eememhrancer,  are  minor  periodicals : 

*  "  Milford  Malvoisins,"  "  Bernard  Leslie,"  "  The  Wardens  of  Berken 
holt"  are  among  "the  last  new  novels"  issued  by  the  Tractai'ian  press. 
"  While  on  this  subject,"  remarks  a  writer  of  Letters  from  Oxford,  "it  is 
impossible  to  pass  without  special  remark  the  story-books  emanating  from 
the  Rev.  F.  E.  Paget,  who  seems  to  devote  himself  to  advancing  Tracta- 
rianism  by  writing  tales  of  fiction  somewhat  in  the  style  of  the  Pickwick 
Papers ;  and  who  afSxes  to  them  a  g'Mas^-episcopal  imprimatur  by  inform- 
ing us  in  his  title-page  that  he  is  '  Chaplain  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Oxford.' 
No  one  can  deny  that  this  gentleman  possesses  a  natural  vein  of  broad  hu- 
mor, and  a  strong  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  which  to  some  men  would  be 
'  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  to  humble  them '  rather  than  a  propensity  to  indulge. 
Mr.  Paget,  however,  seems  to  use  them  otherwise ;  for  in  those  of  his  pub- 
lications which.  I  have  seen,  he  has  risen  from  one  degree  of  license  to 
another,  until,  in  the  story  last  named,  he  has  attained  a  grossness  of  libel 
and  personality  which  might  be  looked  for  rather  in  the  columns  of  the 
'  Penny  Satirist '  than  in  a  religious  ( ! )  story  from  the  pen  of  a  clergy- 
man. The  page  purporting  to  be  '  a  copy  of  a  placard  announcing  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Bible  Society '  is  a  sample  of  what  I  allude  to.  It  libels,  almost 
by  name,  some  of  the  most  influential  and  efficient  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England. 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POPERY?  121 

and  I  grieve  to  say,  that  one  part  at  least  of  the  daily  press, 
that  I  looked  upon  as  distinguished  for  Protestant  principle, 
and  sometimes  for  explosions  of  Protestantism  that  were 
more  than  Protestant,  have  embraced,  or  at  least  defend  the 
obnoxious  principles  of  the  Oxford  school.  I  regret  these 
desertions,  not  so  much  as  proofs  of  the  conversion  of  the 
editors,  as  because  they  are  naturally  the  expressions  and  ex- 
ponents of  public  opinion,  and  means  of  distributing  the  prin- 
ciples they  teach  tlirough  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land. 

With  respect  to  the  rulers  of  the  Church  of  England, 
some  of  them  —  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Arch- 
bishop of  York  particularly  —  have  nobly  denounced  the 
whole  system ;  but  some  bishops,  while  they  have  rebuked 
the  indiscretions  and  excesses  of  Tractarian  zeal,  have  ex- 
pressed on  the  whole  too  great  admiration  of  many  of  their 
principles ;  and  some,  who  ought  not  to  be  silent,  have 
coquetted  with  them,  instead  of  boldly  rebuking  their  dis- 
honesty and  heresies,  or  turning  them  out  from  the  com- 
munion of  a  Church  whose  Articles  are  truly  Protestant. 

These  are  a  few,  out  of  many,  proofs  of  the  labors  and 
progress  of  the  party,  eminent  for  zeal  and  energy  and  feel- 
ing. Unhappy  men  !  They  have  lost  all  perception  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  that  shines  in  the  firmament  above 
them  ;  therefore  they  now  light  up  the  twinkling  tapers  of  a 
miserable  tradition.  They  have  let  go  their  view  of  the 
polestar  of  heaven ;  and  they  are  therefore  now  panting 
and  groping  for  the  guideposts  of  earth.  They  have  in- 
volved themselves  in  a  misty  atmosphere,  in  which  all  truths 
and  errors  are  seen  in  misshapen  forms,  and  by  which  is 
hidden  from  their  own  view  the  true  glory  of  the  Gospel. 
Once  I  thought  that  the  Church  of  England  (and  I  think  so 
still  of  her  doctrines  and  Articles)  and  the  Church  of  Rome 
were  like  antagonist  rocks  or  confronting  battlements,  and 
that  there  interposed  an  impassable  chasm  between  the  one 
and  the  other ;  but,  by  and  by,  Frowde  threw  one  archway 
11 


122  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

forward  from  the  Anglican  side,  Keble  added  a  second,  Pu- 
:-ey  a  third,  and  the  crowning  arch  that  was  required  was 
laid  by  Mr.  Newman,  in  his  exposition  of  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles  in  Tract  90,  which  he  has  now  crossed ;  the  rails 
are  being  laid  down  upon  the  inclined  plane  across  the 
chasm  which  has  been  supplied ;  and  the  wonder  to  me  is, 
not  that  fifty  or  sixty  clergymen  have  passed  into  the  bosom 
of  the  Church  of  Rome,  but  that  all  the  Tractarian  clergy 
do  not  forthwith  join  the  Roman  Catholic  communion. 
Where  they  are,  they  cannot  enjoy  the  full  advantage  of 
"  Catholic  Communion." 

In  continuing  this  course  of  Lectures,  I  beg  to  state  that 
I  am  actuated  by  no  love  of  controversial  preaching  or  con- 
troversial discussion.  I  do  not  naturally  like  controversy  ; 
I  have  a  distaste  for  it ;  circumstances,  rather  than  my  own 
taste,  have  made  me  take  so  marked  a  part  in  it.  I  wish 
there  were  no  necessity  for  controversy  at  all.  The  only 
ground  on  which  I  feel  warranted  in  engaging  in  it,  is  the 
absolute  necessity,  not  the  enjoyment,  of  it.  I  would  that 
there  were  no  more  disputes.  If  I  could,  I  would  decree 
that  henceforth  the  rose  should  have  no  thorn,  that  the  at- 
mosphere of  heaven  should  have  no  storm,  that  the  millen- 
nium should  dawn  upon  us  at  once,  like  a  sun-burst  in  all 
its  beauty,  blessedness,  and  changeless  glory.  But  I  know 
that  the  thorn  is  needful  to  defend  the  rose,  the  storm  is 
essential  to  purify  the  atmosphere,  and  there  never  can  be, 
and  never  will  be,  a  millennium  of  peace,  till  there  is  first 
established  a  millennium  of  truth  and  righteousness  over  the 
whole  earth. 

In  the  second  place,  let  me  say,  that  I  am  actuated  by  no 
feeling  of  opposition  to  the  Church  of  England,  either  as  a 
Church  or  as  an  Establishment.  Those  who  know  me  best, 
can  testify  this,  I  have  loved  and  lauded  that  Church  with 
a  warmth  that  has  sometimes  made  my  own  Scottish  predi- 
lections to  be  suspected  J  I  have  tried  to  defend  her  main 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POPERY?  123 

principles,  which  I  love,  and  her  chief  position,  which  I  ap- 
prove, when  as  I  conceived  duty  rcquired  it ;  but  just  as 
fearlessly  as  I  defend  what  I  conceive  to  be  her  excellences, 
as  honestly  would  I  rebuke  her  sins.  I  have  been  wont  to 
look  upon  her  as  a  noble  and  heaven  built  ship,  moving  with 
spread  sails  and  streaming  pennants  on  the  bosom  of  the 
deep ;  and  I  have  often  thought  our  Scottish  Church  might 
cast  anchor  under  her  shadow,  and  ride  out  beside  her  the 
storms  of  coming  ages  ;  but  alas !  the  plague  seems  to  have 
found  a  lodgement  in  the  midst  of  that  ocean  ark  —  some  of 
the  crew  seem  to  be  in  mutiny  —  a  leak  has  burst  here,  and 
a  rent  is  discovered  there,  and  a  portion  of  her  own  defend- 
ers are  even  trying  to  scuttle  her ;  and  if  that  stately  vessel 
is  now  doomed,  by  treachery  on  board,  to  be  swallowed  up 
in  the  fathomless  abyss,  —  which  God  forbid !  —  we  shall  be 
forced  to  retire  from  her  company,  lest  we  be  sucked  into 
the  absorbing  vortex  occasioned  by  her  foundering.  I  re- 
joice to  know,  that  in  such  an  emergency,  however  much  to 
be  deprecated,  there  are  smaller  vessels  —  it  may  be  of  dif- 
ferent colors,  as  of  inferior  dimensions  —  floating  round  us 
in  every  direction,  and  with  these  we  shall  be  satisfied  to 
sail  in  company ;  for  after  all,  the  same  pennant  floats  at 
the  masthead ;  they  steer  by  the  same  chart,  and  note  the 
same  compass ;  they  act  under  the  same  Captain  of  salva- 
tion ;  and  they  anticipate,  and  are  bound  for,  the  same 
peaceful  and  everlasting  haven. 

In  the  next  place,  let  me  observe,  these  Lectures  are 
not  intended  to  promote  any  form  of  ecclesiastical  polity 
whatever.  I  neither  advocate,  in  these  Lectures,  Episco- 
pacy, nor  Presbyterianism,  nor  Independency  —  as  such. 
My  subject  is  independent  of  these.  The  day  is  done,  when 
we  may  battle  as  we  have  done  about  these  things.  I  be- 
lieve the  contest  is  speedily  to  be,  between  Evangelical 
R-sligion  and  soul-destroying  Superstition.  And  if  "  The 
Church "  is  to  be  the  rallying  cry  upon  the  one  side,  let 


124  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

"  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  be  the  unbroken  battle  shout 
that  is  heard  upon  the  other. 

It  may  be  urged,  that  there  are  many  defensive  apologies 
to  be  made  for  these  men.  It  is  said,  for  instance,  that  there 
are  many  good  men  among  the  Tractarians.  So  there  are 
Satan  is  no  such  blunderer  as  to  employ  none  but  bad  men 
to  promote  the  peculiar  principles  he  has  now  at  heart.  Who 
more  devoted  than  some  of  the  most  distinguished  heresiarchs 
that  have  stained  the  theology  of  the  Church  in  every  age  ? 
"Was  not  Tertullian  eminently  good?  Was  not  SocinuS 
singularly  moderate  ?  Who  more  noble-minded  or  disinter* 
ested  than  Irving  ?  It  is  Satan's  ablest  policy  to  select  or 
permit  the  best,  or  the  least  objectionable  weapons,  to  pro- 
mote by  them  the  worst  of  purposes. 

But  it  is  said  further,  that  they  have  done  much  good.  It 
may  be  so ;  but  I  think  the  evil  they  have  done  more  than 
counterbalances,  a  thousand  fold,  the  supposed  or  actual 
good.  The  only  good  I  see  likely  to  result  from  it  at  all,  is 
a  desire  for  greater  union  among  all  true  Christians. 

It  is  urged,  however,  that  they  profess  a  hatred  of 
Popery.  In  this  hes  the  "mystery  of  iniquity:"  they 
denounce  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  a  schism  in  this 
country,  but  not  as  a  heresy ;  their  recent  language  on  the 
Papal  aggression  is  evidence  of  this ;  they  tell  you  that  if 
you  were  to  go  into  France  or  Belgium,  you  ought  to  join 
in  its  worship,  and  become  members  of  its  communion; 
and  while  they  denounce  the  grosser  practices  of  the 
Komish  Church,  they  disseminate  the  more  vigorously  its 
evil  principles. 

But,  it  is  said,  their  efforts  are  calculated  to  produce 
unity.  True,  but  it  is  the  unity  of  the  dead,  not  of  the 
living :  the  unity  of  the  grave,  only  to  be  followed  by  the 
corruption  of  the  dead  —  not  the  living  unity  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High. 

It  is  also  urged,  that  the  principles  the  Tractarians  hold 


IS    TRACTARIANISM    POPERY?  125 

are  essential  to  the  successful  support  of  the  Established 
Church,  If  an  ecclesiastical  establishment  can  only  be 
sustained  at  the  expense  of  divine  truth,  I  say  of  it,  with 
unrelenting  mind,  —  "  Raze  it,  raze  it,  even  to  the  ground." 
But  this  is  not  the  case.  Much  as  I  love  the  Established 
Churches  of  England,  of  Ireland,  and  of  Scotland,  and 
much  as  I  wish,  (I  speak  my  own  individual  sentiments,) 
that  they  may  continue  blessings  and  ornaments  to  the  land, 
yet  I  do  say,  that  if  these  deadly  principles  were  to  gain  tlie 
complete  ascendency,  and  to  be  taught,  not  merely  by  indi- 
vidual priests,  but  by  the  authority  of  the  bishops  or  other 
governors,  and  to  be  sustained  and  fostered  beneath  the 
overshadowing  wing  of  the  State,  then  I  should  begin  to 
suspect  —  I  say  it  most  solemnly  —  that  what  I  thought  a 
rash  and  uncharitable  remark  made  by  a  distinguislied 
Dissenting  minister,  in  what  I  thought  unhappy  moment, 
had  in  it  more  of  the  breath  of  the  prophet  than  the 
enmity  of  the  partisan ;  —  I  should  begin  to  think  with  him, 
that  the  Church  in  which  such  principles  are  taught,  and 
authoritatively  enjoined,  is  an  institution  whose  ruin  cannot 
be  too  speedily  accomplished,  and  whose  removal  cannot  be 
too  fervently  prayed  for. 

But  I  hope  for  better  things.  I  hope  all  parties  will  seek 
after  truth,  and  that  as  of  old  many  not  in  the  English 
establishment  had  no  light  share  in  reviving  the  dying  glory 
on  the  altars  of  the  Anglican  Church,  many  such  will  again 
be  in  some  degree  instrumental  in  brightening  the  partially 
smouldering  flame ;  and  that  the  day  will  come,  when  the 
Church  of  England  will  no  longer  look  back  idolatrously  to 
her  pedigree,  and  count  superstitiously  the  links  /)f  her 
genealogy,  but  rivet  her  purged  eye  upon  the  Sun  of  Right 
eousness,  extending  the  right-hand  of  fellowship  to  all  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus.  None,  then,  will  pray  more  fervently 
than  I,  that  her  glory  may  burn  and  spread,  till  it  is  lost  in 
the  effulgence  of  the  Millennial  mom. 
11* 


LECTURE    V, 

EOMISn   PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS. 

I  NOW  propose  to  examine  some  of  the  assumptions  and 
pretensions  of  the  Romish  Church  and  her  Tractarian 
adherents,  reserving  for  the  next  Lecture  those  which  I 
may  not  be  able  to  discuss  in  the  present. 

The  first  Romish  pretension  to  which  I  would  turn  your 
attention,  is  the  boasted  sjdendor  and  beauty,  which  are  put 
forward  as  the  invariable  characteristics  of  the  Roma:Q 
Catholic  ritual.  I  can  speak  of  this  from  personal  knowl- 
edge, as  I  have  visited  most  of  the  beautiful  cathedrals  of 
Belgium  and  Germany.  I  have  gone,  at  all  hours,  to  see 
their  sublime  and  gorgeous  ritual ;  of  which,  I  must  confess, 
the  Tractarian  approximations  are  exceedingly  miserable 
imitations ;  and  I  do  confess,  painfully  aware  as  I  was  of 
the  fearful  principles  that  lurk  beneath,  I  could  scarcely 
help  being  charmed,  fascinated,  and  arrested  by  the  sublim- 
ity of  their  music,  the  impressiveness  of  their  ritual,  and 
the  tout  ensemble  of  a  solemn  and  richly  decorated  service. 
And  no  doubt,  if  to  fascinate  the  eye  with  the  most  exquisite 
paintings  —  if  to  charm  the  ear  with  the  strains  that  have 
emanated  from  the  genius  of  the  most  illustrious  composers 

—  if  to  provide  for  the  smell  the  ascending  incense  with  its 
curling  clouds  —  if  these  be  the  main  ends  of  a  church,  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  attained  those  ends  in  an  eminent 
degree.  But  if  the  true  end  of  a  church  —  if  the  great 
scope  of  all  religion,  is  to  raise  men  to  the  likeness  of  God 

—  to  make  the  creature  feel  and  realize  fellowship  with  the 


EOMISH   PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  127 

Creator  —  to  render  the  lost  and  the  debased  partakers  of 
the  Divine  nature  —  to  enable  men  on  earth  "  to  do  justlj, 
and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  their  God," 
and  hereafter  to  reap  the  rewards  of  grace,  —  then  I  assert, 
and  I  am  prepared  to  demonstrate,  that  the  Romish  Church, 
instead  of  answering  these  great  and  sublime  ends,  is  fitted 
to  accomplish  the  very  opposite.  She  has  plunged  into  the 
grossest  apostasy  in  principle,  and  produced  the  direst 
immorality  in  practice.  Her  outward  glory  is  the  covering 
of  the  corruption  of  the  grave.  The  true  description  of  the 
gorgeous  splendor  of  the  Romish  Church  is  a  very  painful 
but  a  very  plain  one.  The  Italian  bandits  construct  beau- 
tiful palaces  and  halls,  but  it  is  out  of  the  robbery  of 
orphans  and  the  plunder  of  widows.  The  syren's  music 
charmed  the  unwary  traveller,  but  it  was  to  his  destruction. 
Both,  I  venture  to  assert,  meet  their  most  appropriate  anti- 
type in  the  ritual,  the  beauty  and  attractiveness  of  the 
Romish  Church.  Her  music  is  that  of  the  syren's,  that 
lures  to  ruin ;  her  architectural  beauty  is  that  of  the  Italian 
bandit's  hall,  constructed  out  of  the  spoils  of  a  dishonored 
God  and  degi'aded  souls.  Her  whole  structure  presents  a 
moral  fac  simile  of  the  Egyptian  temples  of  old,  in  which 
was  the  most  imposing  architecture  without,  while  the  gods 
within  were  the  filthy  creatures  of  the  Nile,  and  the  vegeta- 
ble products  of  its  mud. 

But  does  Christianity  really  stand  in  need  of  additional 
splendor  to  its  ritual,  or  of  material  ornament  to  its  lessons  ? 
I  conceive  that  there  is  something  in  the  simple  Gospel  so 
majestic  —  something  so  transcending  all  that  the  pencil  of 
the  painter  or  pen  of  the  poet  can  embody  —  that  Chris- 
tianity seems  to  me  adorned  the  most,  when  it  is  adorned 
the  least.  Would  you  ever  think  of  taking  a  few  drops 
from  a  phial  of  otto  of  roses,  in  order  to  add  to  the  perfume 
of  the  rose  just  gathered  on  a  May  morning,  and  wet  with 
the  dews  of  heaven  ?     If  that  splendid  monument  of  human 


128  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

genius  were  here,  the  Apollo  Belvidere,  unquestionably  the 
product  of  the  chisel  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of 
ancient  statuaries,  should  we  applaud  the  taste  of  that  man 
who  would  propose  that  the  mercers'  and  the  hatters'  and 
the  shoemakers'  shops  should  furnish  ornaments  with  which 
to  deck  it  ?  Would  you  not  say  —  There  is  something  in 
the  almost  living  lineaments  of  the  form  so  noble,  something 
in  the  contour  and  proportions  of  the  marble  so  beautiful, 
that  the  richest  clothing  of  man  would  deform,  not  dignify 
—  dim,  not  reveal,  its  pure  and  simple  glories  ?  So  is  it 
with  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  so  beau- 
tiful in  itself,  that  all  accessions  of  material  beauty  serve 
but  to  conceal  or  mar  it.  The  Rose  of  Sharon  is  so  fra- 
grant, and  its  tints  so  lovely,  that  it  needs  no  sprinkling 
from  the  streams  of  the  Isis,  —  still  less  from  the  filthy 
waters  of  the  Tiber  —  either  to  augment  its  perfume  or  to 
heighten  its  colors. 

This  rage  for  adding  outward  and  material  ornament  to 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  is  founded  on  a  fact,  confirmed  and 
illustrated  by  almost  universal  experience  throughout  the 
history  of  the 'Church  of  Christ — that  when  the  spiritual 
glory  of  a  Church  begins  to  depart,  she  proceeds  to  heap  up 
and  attach  to  herself  material  and  worldly  ornaments. 
When  the  beauty  made  up  of  "  mercy  and  truth  meeting 
together,  righteousness  and  peace  kissing  each  other,"  fades 
from  her  altars,  the  painter,  and  the  poet,  and  the  musician 
are  summoned  to  her  aid,  to  present  some  substitute  for  the 
lost  and  departed  glory.  The  true  explanation  of  the  Trac- 
tarian  and  the  Romish  ornaments  which  are  piled  succes- 
sively upon  their  ritual,  their  faith,  and  their  worship,  is, 
that  having  ceased  to  draw  their  beauty  from  above, — 
having  forgotten  that  "  the  King's  daughter  is  glorious 
within  "  —  not  without  —  they  feel  constrained  to  ransack 
Aaron's  wardrobe  and  the  heathen  flamen's  vestry,  in  order 
to  collect  the  trappings  and  the  ornaments  of  an  exploded 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  129 

ritual  to  be  substituted  for  that  beautiful  worship,  the  in- 
scription on  the  length  and  breadth  of  which  is  —  "  God  is 
a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth." 

An  apology  urged  on  behalf  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
rather  by  her  patrons  than  her  priests,  is,  there  are  many 
good  men,  the  advocates  of  the  principles  of  both.  Unques- 
tionably there  are ;  and  it  would  indeed  argue  that  Satan 
had  lapsed  into  an  unusual  bhmder,  instead  of  pursuing  suc- 
cessfully the  subtle  tactics  by  which  he  has  always  been 
characterized,  if  he  were  to  put  forward  Popery  merely  by 
bad  instruments,  or  to  promote  the  principles  of  semi-Popery 
by  men  of  questionable  or  blasted  reputation.  Satan  always 
selects,  where  he  can,  the  choicest  instruments  to  accomplish 
his  iniquitous  designs.  Reason  and  Scripture,  however, 
make  it  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  there  have  been  many 
good  men  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  There  has  been  a  Fen- 
elon,  signalized  by  the  moral  glory  that  reposed  on  his 
temper  and  irradiated  his  walk ;  there  has  been  a  Martin 
Boos,  distinguished  even  for  the  faithfulness  with  which  he 
j)reached  the  everlasting  Gospel  in  the  midst  of  Rome  ;  nor 
can  I  omit  the  celebrated  Pascal,  a  Jansenist  it  is  true,  but 
still  a  Romanist,  whose  writings  may  be  perused  with  profit 
by  the  most  spiritually  minded  Protestant.  But  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  these  men  were  Christians,  not  in  consequence 
of  their  creed,  but  in  spite  of  their  creed ;  that  in  the  ratio 
of  their  faithfulness  they  were  persecuted;  and  they  are 
only  standing  proofs  that  there  is  a  brilliancy  and  a  pene- 
trating energy  in  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  which  the  over- 
shadowing despotism  of  Rome  has  not  been  able  entirely  to 
exclude,  and  which  the  proscription  of  its  councils  has  not 
succeeded  in  utterly  extirpating. 

This  fact,  that  there  are  good  men  in  the  Church  of 
Rome,  is  only  one  of  those  analogies  which  characterize  the 
whole  marred  and  dismantled  world  of  which  we  are  mem- 


130  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

bers.  There  is  not  a  height  on  the  loftiest  Apennine,  on 
which  there  is  not  some  blossom  which  the  winter  frosts 
have  not  nipped,  some  floweret  which  the  hurricane  has  not 
blasted.  There  is  no  desert  without  an  oasis.  And  so  there 
is  not  a  church  or  a  communion  under  heaven  in  the  bosom 
of  which  there  are  not  here  and  there  some  witnesses  that 
God  has  not  utterly  forsaken  it;  thereby  presenting  the 
very  ground  on  which  Protestants  can  address  hundreds  in 
the  Romish  Church  in  the  language  of  the  Apocalypse  — 
"  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of 
her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues." 

It  has  been  alleged  that  there  are  many  truths  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  system.  So  doubtless  there  are.  There 
are  truths  in  Deism,  throughout  all  its  shades;  there  are 
some  truths  even  in  Mahometanism ;  and  it  would  be  strange 
indeed,  if  there  were  not  here  and  there  some  unextin- 
guished truths  in  the  vast  mass  of  doctrinal  corruption  by 
which  the  Church  of  Rome  is  at  this  moment  oppressed. 
But  these  truths,  I  allege,  are  inoperative,  if  not  wholly 
subverted  as  to  their  practical  effects,  by  the  overflowing 
corruptions  of  heresy  and  error.  Were  a  tumbler  of  water 
now  placed  in  my  hand,  and  were  I  to  let  fall  into  it  only 
six  drops  of  pure,  unadulterated  prussic  acid,  and  to  request 
you  to  drink  the  water,  would  you  not  reply,  "  No,  I  object 
to  do  so ;  it  is  poison  ? "  Suppose  I  were  to  answer, 
"  There  are  ninety-nine  parts  of  pure  fountain  water,  and 
only  one  hundreth  part  prussic  acid ; "  would  you  not  natu- 
rally say,  "  Yes,  but  the  deleterious  eflfects  of  the  acid  are 
so  intense,  that  all  the  wholesome  properties  of  the  Avater 
are  thereby  utterly  neutralized  ?  "  So  it  is  in  the  Church 
of  Rome.  Were  it  proved  that  there  are  (as  there  are  not) 
ninety-nine  parts  pure  and  primitive  Christianity  in  the 
Romish  faith ;  the  additional  part,  coming  from  man's  cor- 
rupt heart,  and  concocted  in  man's  depraved  imagination,  is 
so  deleterious,  so  deadly,  that  it  makes  void  and  valueless  to 
man  the  everlasting  Gospel. 


KOMISH    PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  131 

The  next  assumption  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  put 
forward  with  great  plausibility,  and  constantly  on  the  lips  of 
Roman  Catholics,  is  that  they  are  the  ancient  Churchy  and 
that  we  Protestants  form  an  upstart  and  modern  sect.  If 
by  this  statement  it  is  meant  that  the  essential  principles  of 
Popery  are  ancient,  I  do  not  for  one  moment  dispute  it.  I 
believe  that  in  its  principles  it  is  coeval  with  the  Fall  of 
man ;  indeed  I  believe  with  Luther,  that  every  man  is  born 
with  a  pope  in  his  heart.  Popery,  in  fact,  is  a  plant  indi- 
genous to  human  nature ;  it  luxuriates  in  the  congenial  soil 
of  the  corrupt  heart ;  it  demands  no  fostering,  no  paternal 
and  nourishing  care ;  it  will  bloom,  and  flourish,  and  spread, 
if  just  let  alone.  But  truth  is  an  exotic  in  this  world ;  it  is 
a  native  of  a  lovelier,  even  a  celestial  clime ;  it  needs  to  be 
daily  watered  by  heaven's  pure  dews ;  it  requires  to  be 
touched  by  the  rays  of  heaven's  holy  Sun ;  and  it  is  only 
with  the  tending  cares  of  a  mother,  and  the  watchfulness  of 
a  nurse,  strengthened  and  sustained  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  that 
Christianity  is  kept  alive  and  growing,  in  the  heart  of  a 
lapsed  and  God  estranged  world. 

Popery,  I  have  said,  is  coeval  in  its  principles  with  the 
Fall.  By  way  of  illustrating  this,  I  will  state  what  may 
appear,  at  first,  in  the  light  of  a  paradox,  but  will  yet  be 
found  to  be  a  great  truth ;  it  is  this :  Adam  was  a  Papist 
before  he  became  a  Protestant.  I  do  not  say  that  Adam 
was  designed  to  be  a  type  of  a  Romish  Priest.  He  was  an 
instance  simply  of  man  fallen  and  man  restored,  and  just  in 
so  far  as  Romanism  is  a  provision  for  the  sinner,  but  not  the 
provision,  it  is  shadowed  forth  by  Adam.  When  our  first 
father  fled  from  the  presence  of  God,  and  tried  to  wrap 
himself  in  fig-tree  leaves,  either  to  conceal  the  nakedness  he 
then  first  felt,  or  to  constitute  a  robe  that  would  be  a  title  to 
the  consciously  lost  favor  of  God ;  when  he  ran  from  the 
face  of  Heaven,  and  sought  shelter  amid  the  parterres,  and 
the  yet  undismantled  bowers  of  Paradise;  —  the  man,  in  all 


132  THE    GREAT    ArOSTASY. 

this,  presented  the  perfect  type  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Her  safety,  she  feels  and  fancies,  lies  in  sheltering 
herself  from  the  searching  eye  of  God ;  her  favorite  rai- 
ment is  the  "  filthy  rags  "  of  human  righteousness,  and  much 
of  her  glory,  such  as  it  is,  is  the  merit  of  her  canonized 
saints.  She  seems  to  believe  her  security  very  much  de- 
pends on  the  secrecy  with  which  she  can  conceal  herself 
from  that  God  who  pronounces  the  most  exalted  human 
righteousness  to  be  sin  —  all  human  wisdom  folly  —  and 
human  life  itself,  in  its  best  estate,  to  be  only  vanity.  But 
when  after  Adam's  flight  the  glorious  Gospel  sounded  amid 
the  ruins  of  Paradise,  and  Adam's  heart  thrilled  with  the 
soul-inspiring  accents,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise 
the  serpent's  head ; "  when  again  he  turned  his  face  upon 
that  very  God  from  whom  he  had  fled,  and  approached  him 
with  bended  knee  and  broken  heart,  and  called  him  "  Father ! " 
our  great  progenitor,  in  that  act,  presented  the  bright  type 
of  the  Protestant  Church. 

In  the  very  next  generation  we  see  the  antiquity  and 
action  of  Popish  principles  in  practical  development;  for 
the  fact  is,  there  are  two  successions  that  have  never  lost  a 
link,  —  unquestionably  old,  —  the  succession  of  Papists  or 
self-righteous  sinners  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  succession  of 
Protestants  or  true  believers  on  the  other.  Cain  was,  in 
principle,  the  first  Roman  Catholic  priest ;  and  Abel,  in  prin- 
ciple, was  the  first  Protestant  minister  and  martyr.  This 
will  be  seen,  if  we  only  bear  in  mind  the  definition  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  that  it  is  an 
"unbloody  sacrifice,"  (that  is,  a  sacrifice  without  shedding 
of  blood,)  and  with  this,  the  definition  of  our  great  Sacrifice 
in  the  Protestant  Church,  that  "  without  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  remission  of  sins."  When  Cain  was  about  to 
offer  his  sacrifice  to  God,  he  obviously  pursued  some  such 
course  as  this :  he  selected  the  loveliest  flowers  that  bloomed 
in  his  garden ;  he  gathered  the  most  delicious  fruit  that  grew 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSICNS.  133 

upon  its  trees,  but  faintly  blighted  by  the  Fall ;  he  brought 
that  fruit  and  those  flowers  together,  as  of  the  products  of  an 
unfallen  world,  wove  them  into  an  amaranthine  garland,  laid 
it  on  the  altar  of  his  God,  and  knelt  and  said,  "  O  Lord  !  I 
devote  these  flowers  and  fruits  to  thee:  thy  smiles  gave 
them  all  their  beauty,  thy  breath  gave  them  all  their  fra- 
grance ;  I  acknowledge  thee,  in  this  act,  to  be  my  Creator 
and  my  providing  and  protecting  God."  There  he  stopped: 
but  when  Abel  was  about  to  offer  his  sacrifice,  his  course  as 
well  as  convictions  were  not  the  same.  He  selected  a  meek, 
even  a  spotless  lamb  from  the  fold ;  he  plunged  the  knife 
into  its  throat,  and  shed  its  blood ;  and  having  laid  it  on  the 
altar,  he  thus  prayed  by  the  enveloping  flame  and  ascending 
smoke,  "  O  Lord,  my  God !  with  my  brother  Cain  I  acknowl- 
edge that  thou  art  my  Creator;  with  my  brother  Cain  I 
acknowledge  that  thou  art  my  preserver,  and  that  earth  and 
all  therein  were  made  by  thee ;  but  beyond  him,  and  what 
he  has  fatally  lost  sight  of,  I  acknowledge,  O  my  God,  that 
I  am  guilty ;  that  as  this  lamb  dies,  so  ought  I  to  die ;  and 
that  my  faith  and  hope  gather  all  their  nutriment,  and  all 
my  salvation,  from  *  the  Lamb  slain  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world '  — '  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world.'  "  The  contrast  shows  that  Cain's  was  the  un- 
bloody sacrifice  —  exactly  typical  of  the  Mass;  and  that 
Abel's  was  the  sacrifice  accompanied  with  bloodshedding  — 
as  exactly  typical  of  that  sacrifice  which  was  made  once  for 
all  upon  the  cross  on  Calvary.  Romish  principles,  we  must 
therefore  admit,  are  not  wholly  novelties ;  they  date  their 
birth  at  the  entrance  of  sin. 

If  by  the  statement  uvged  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  that 
that  Church  is  the  ancient  Church,  and  prior  to  ours,  she 
means  that  her  principles,  and  not  ours,  were  taught  by  the 
Apostles,  then  the  very  fair  and  reasonable  appeal  which  I 
make  to  every  Roman  Catholic  is  just  this :  Take  the  Epistle 
of  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans,  (which  Roman  Cathohcs  are 
12 


134  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

aware  was  addressed  to  their  Church  while  yet  in  her  purity 
and  untainted  glory,)  and  compare  with  the  principles  laid 
down  in  that  Epistle  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent, 
which  can  easily  be  furnished  to  you  —  or,  if  you  like,  the 
Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV. ;  and  if  you  can  show  me  that  the 
principles  held  by  your  Church  at  the  present  day  are  coin- 
cident throughout,  or  in  the  main,  with  the  principles 
preached  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his  address  to  the  ancient 
Roman  Church,  I  will  instantly  cease  to  be  a  Protestant  and 
become  a  Roman  Catholic.  Or,  to  bring  the  matter  to  a 
still  more  practical  issue,  listen  to  the  preaching  of  your 
priests  for  one  single  year,  and  then,  after  you  have  done 
so,  listen  to  the  preaching  of  a  minister  of  the  Protestant 
Churchy  get  a  shorthand  writer,  if  you  can,  to  report  their 
respective  discourses  for  you,  and  compare  the  preaching  of 
the  Protestant  minister  and  the  preaching  of  your  priest 
with  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans ;  and  if  you  dis- 
cover that  your  priest  preaches  justification  by  faith  only, 
without  the  works  of  the  law,  redemption  only  through  an 
atonement  once  offered  by  the  Saviour,  not  to  be  reiterated, 
and  "  being  justified  by  faith,  peace  with  God  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  —  then  remain  where  you  are,  and 
charge  Protestants  with  most  unwarrantable  schism  in  leav- 
ing a  church  so  pure,  and  eloquent  with  principles  so  apos- 
tolic ;  but  if  you  find  that  the  very  reverse  is  the  case  — 
that  the  preaching  in  the  one  pulpit  dovetails  with  all  the 
statements  of  Paul ;  and  that  if  the  preaching  of  your  priest 
be  true,  Paul's  must  be  heresy ;  and  if  Paul's  be  true,  your 
priest's  must  be  false  ;  if  you  find  that  the  preaching  of  your 
priest  is  the  opposite  of  the  preaching  of  St.  Paul,  then  I 
implore  you  by  the  mercies  of  God  —  I  implore  you  by  the 
prospect  of  a  judgment-day  —  I  implore  you  as  you  shall 
answer  for  the  statements  that  are  here  laid  before  you  —  J 
implore  you  by  all  that  is  sweet  in  the  Christian  privileges 
of  time,  and  all  that  is  awful  in  the  prospects  of  immortality 


BOMISH    PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  135 

—  to  leave  a  Church  where  the  Saviour  is  practically  subor- 
dinate to  Mary ;  and  hasten,  "  Hke  doves  to  their  windows," 
to  join  a  communion  where  "  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all." 

And  here  let  me  just  observe  upon  this  question — Which 
is  the  true  and  ancient  Church  —  that  it  is  utterly  impossible 
to  defend  qprselves  as  Protestants  upon  any  other  ground, 
thitn  the  broad  ground  of  recognizing  all  Christians  as  mem- 
bers of  that  church,  who  "  hold  the  faith  in  unity  of  spirit, 
in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness  of  life."  If  you 
say  the  Church  of  England,  or  any  other  Protestant  Church, 
is  alone  the  true  Church,  instead  of  holding  each  to  be  a 
branch,  more  or  less  imperfect,  of  the  visible  Church,  you 
are  on  Romisft  ground,  and  the  priest  will  unquestionably 
beat  you;  but  if  you  take  up  the  position,  that  you«are  not 
to  go  beyond  the  boards  of  the  Bible  for  the  definition  and 
the  determination  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  you  are  on  im- 
pregnable ground,  and  all  the  principalities  and  powers  in 
hell,  united  with  all  the  priests  in  the  Vatican,  cannot  pos- 
sibly scathe  you. 

But  to  return:  if  by  the  statement  that  the  Romish 
Church  is  the  ancient  Church  and  ours  the  modem,  it  is 
meant  to  be  conveyed  that  the  Church  is  always  visible,  and 
that  during  the  fourteen  centuries  that  preceded  the  Refor- 
mation, the  only  visible  Church  was  the  Romish  Church,  and 
the  only  communion  also  that  pretended  or  professed,  by  her 
numbers,  her  aspect  and  appearance,  to  be  the  true  Church ; 
then  I  at  once  maintain,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  defi- 
nition of  a  scriptural  Church,  that  it  should  be  always  and 
at  all  times  visible.  There  was  a  Church  when  Elijah  stood 
alone,  and  all  his  compeers  were  hiding  from  persecution ; 
there  was  a  Church,  (according  to  the  statements  of  some 
distinguished  advocates  of  the  Romish  communion,)  and  but 
one  single  individual  in  that  Church,  when  our  Lord  was 
crucified  —  that  Church  being  comprehended,  as  they  say,  iu 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  in  her  alone. 


136  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY.        ^^^ 

But  if  they  ask  the  question,  Where  was  the  visible  Prot- 
estant Church  prior  to  the  Reformation  by  Martin  Luther  ? 
I  can  tell  them,  to  their  shame ;  for  it  is  too  easy  to  do  so. 
The  valleys  of  Piedmont  and  the  Cottian  Alps  still  breathe 
forth  the  announcement,  amid  the  mementos  of  the  tears  and 
blood  by  which  they  were  stained,  —  "  The  persecuted  rep- 
resentatives of  the  true  Church  were  hid,  by  thousands,  /ie«e." 
The  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition,  and  the  prison  of  St.  An- 
gelo,  if  they  could  find  a  tongue,  and  become  vocal  with 
honesty  and  truth,  would  tell  a  kindred  tale  —  and  the 
recent  banishment  of  the  Pope  and  disclosure  of  inscriptions 
on  the  walls  of  the  Inquisition  at  Rome  very  memorably 
declare,*  "  The  persecuted  children  of  ih&  Church  were 
murdei^d  and  starved  hereJ^  Persecution  trod  down  the 
true  Church.  The  visible  Protestant  Church  was  in  the 
'grasp  of  the  Romish  Church  ;  and  was  not  created,  but  only 
emancipated  and  unlocked  from  that  grasp,  at  the  era  of  the 
Reformation.f 

I  will  illustrate  this  by  an  anecdote,  recorded  in  the 
Travels,  I  think,  of  Lord  Lindsay.  That  nobleman  states, 
that  on  visiting  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  he  found  in  one  of 
those  ancient  repositories  of  the  dead  a  mummy,  which  indi- 
cated, according  to  the  mode  of  interpreting  hieroglyphics 
adopted  by  Champollion  and  by  Young,  that  it  was  full  two 
thousand  years  old.  On  opening  the  case,  and  unrolling  the 
mummy,  he  found  in  its  right  hand  a  bulbous  or  rather  tu- 
berous root.  Lord  Lindsay  wondered  whether  vegetable 
life  could  outlast  an  imprisonment  of  two  thousand  years ; 
and,  in  order  to  put  the  problem  to  the  test,  he  opened  the 
hand  of  the  mummy,  took  out  the  vegetable  root,  planted  it 

*  See  accounts  of  the  bombardment  of  Rome  in  "  Daily  News."  Diario 
Eomano  —  "Roman  Advertiser,"  etc.  for  1848,  1849. 

t  See  in  Mr.  Elliot's  Horse  Apocalypticai  —  a  work  which  reflects  a  light 
on  prophecy  unparalleled  —  a  luminous  and  successful  history  of  the  Two 
Witnesses  in  the  Paulikians  and  Waldenses  during  the  middle  ages.  Se« 
also  "Apocalyptic  Sketches,"  yoL  1. 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  137 

in  a  fertile  and  favorable  soil,  and  exposed  it  to  the  sunshine 
and  the  dews  of  heaven  ;  and,  to  his  amazement  and  delight, 
that  lately  dry  root  shot  up,  and  presented  a  stem,  unfolding 
a  most  beautiful  dahlia.  Nojv,  I  say,  the  Protestant  Church, 
before  the  Reformation,  was  in  a  position  similar  to  that  of 
the  dahlia  root ;  it  was  compressed  in  the  iron  grasp  of  the 
most  deadly  despotism.  And  all  that  Calvin,  and  Luther, 
and  Knox  did,  was  to  unlock  the  hand  that  held  it  —  to  take 
out  the  concealed  epitome  of  heaven's  high  principles  —  to 
plant  it  in  the  father-lands  of  Germany,  of  England,  of 
Scotland,  and  of  Ireland  —  and  to  place  it  beneath  the 
beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  and  the  rain  drops  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  till  it  took  root,  and  grew  up,  and  pre- 
sented, as  it  does  now,  wide  spreading  boughs  crowned  with 
ten  thousand  blossoms,  destined  to  wave  with  immortal  fra- 
grancy,  and  to  constitute  the  accumulating  glory  and  the 
richest  and  holiest  ornaments  of  our  native  land. 

In  answer,  still  further,  to  this  pretension  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  (and  let  me  just  say,  that  the  assumption  that  the 
true  Church  is  always  a  visible  Church,  lies  at  the  root  of 
the  Tractarian  heresies,)  I  observe,  that  the  Romanist  con- 
stantly proceeds  on  the  supposition,  that  at  the  Reformation 
we  founded  a  new  Church,  or  started  a  new  concern  alto- 
gether. This  we  deny;  we  merely  brought  out  the  old 
Church.  We  maintain  that  the  pearl  of  inestimable  price 
was  overlaid  and  concealed  by  accumulated  rubbish,  and  all 
we  did  was  to  remove  the  rubbish,  and  disclose  that  pearl 
with  its  inherent  glories.  When  Hezekiah  purified  the  rites 
of  the  ancient  Church,  and  our  Lord  expelled  the  money- 
changers from  the  Temple  in  his  days,  the  one  only  re- 
stored that  which  was  corrupted,  while  the  other  purified  that 
which  was  defiled.  So  with  our  Reformers.  What  they 
did  was  to  detach  all  that  was  "  of  the  earth,  earthy ; "  and 
to  retain  all  that  was  of  heaven,  heavenly.  I  may  illustrate 
this  (and  it  is,  perhaps,  the  best  way  of  impressing  on  a 
12* 


138  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

popular  assembly,  so  vast  and  varied,  a  great  truth)  by 
another  little  incident,  whioh  I  have  selected  from  one  of  the 
newspapers.  It  appears  that  a  broker  in  Paris  one  day 
purchased  a  picture,  which  seemed  to  be  a  painting  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  by  some  very  inferior  and  inartistic  hand ;  he 
gave  for  it  but  a  few  francs.  While  he  was  examining  it,  a 
little  bit  of  the  exterior  paint  happened  to  break  off,  and  to 
his  amazement  he  saw  something  beneath,  that  indicated  the 
touches  of  a  master  pencil.  He  resolved,  at  the  risk  of  the 
cost  of  his  purchase,  to  remove  the  whole  superficies,  which 
constituted  the  representation  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and  on 
doing  so,  he  found,  to  his  astonishment  and  delight,  that 
there  was  beneath  it  an  exquisite  picture  of  our  Lord,  by 
Poussin,  if  I  mistake  not,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  paint- 
ers. Now,  this  is  exactly  what  our  Reformers  did.  They 
found  Christ's  body,  which  is  the  Church,  covered  with 
representations  of  the  saints,  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and 
of  the  priesthood ;  and  all  that  Luther  did  w^as  to  scale  off 
fragments  of  the  outward  covering,  in  order  that  its  hidden 
beauty  might  peer  forth.  Ridley  and  Cranmer  scaled  off  a 
further  part  of  it ;  and  Knox,  though  it  is  true  he  rubbed 
very  roughly  on  the  original,  took  off  all  the  remains  and 
vestiges  of  the  corrupt  and  earthly  crust  that  called  itself 
Christ's  Church,  and  thus  proved  the  Reformation  Church 
to  be  merely  a  new  edition  of  the  Apostolic  Church.  Alas ! 
after  these  have  been  detached,  a  miserable  and  misguided 
section,  in  the  age  in  which  we  live,  are  busily  occupied  in 
collecting  all  the  scattered  fragments  of  the  old  layers,  and 
laboring  to  glue  and  paste  them  on  again  in  order  to  bring 
back  the  apostasy,  under  the  pretext  of  restoring  apostolic 
practices,  and  to  cover  and  conceal  every  Protestant  truth 
by  laying  over  each  a  correspondent  Popish  corruption. 

But  if  the  Chur'-'.h  of  Rome  persist  in  maintaining,  upon 
the  one  hand,  that  ^he  is  the  ancient  Church,  and  we,  on  the 
other,   that  we   are   the   primitive   and  the  truly   ancient 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  139 

Cliurcli ;  we  ask  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  Who  is  to  decide 
which  is  true?  If  I  propose  the  Holy  Scripture  as  the 
arbiter,  the  Church  of  Rome  exhausts  her  vocabulary  of 
abuse,  wherewith  to  denounce  and  designate  the  word  of 
God.  If  I  propose  contemporaneous  churches  —  the  Greek 
Church,  the  Syriac  Church,  the  Coptic  Church  —  the 
Roman  Catholic  advocate  tells  me  that  these  were  and  are 
schismatics.  If  I  propose  the  most  illustrious  divines  that 
Protestant  Christendom  has  produced,  the  answer  of  the 
Romish  advocate  is,  that  they  are  heretics,  and  cannot  be 
listened  to.  If  I  propose  a  General  Council  to  decide  the 
question,  Which  is  the  ancient  and  which  is  the  modem 
Church,  the  Roman  Catholic  will  say  —  "A  General  Coun- 
cil by  all  means,  if  you  please,  but  the  Pope  must  be  at  the 
head  of  it ;  and  if  it  should  decide  any  thing  contrary  to  his 
mind,  it  must  immediately  be  dissolved,  and  its  decree  neces- 
sarily go  for  nothing."  Then  who  is  to  determine  the  truth  ? 
"  We  are  the  ancient  Church,"  says  Rome,  "just  because  we 
assert  it ; "  and  we  will  shelter  ourselves  in  the  olden  castle 
of  infallibility,  and  maintain  that  we  are  right,  and  all  the 
world  are  wrong,  in  spite  of  Revelation,  "  in  spite  of  reason, 
in  spite  of  divines  and  doctors,"  and  we  may  add,  "  in  spite 
of  common  sense  itself." 

I  remember,  in  the  writings  of  the  illustrious  poet,  meta- 
physician, and  I  think  I  may  add.  Christian  —  Coleridge, 
there  occurs  a  very  apt  illustration  of  the  relative  antiquity 
of  the  Romish  and  the  Christian  Church,  which  I  would 
use,  but  apply  to  my  own  purpose,  and  follow  out  beyond 
even  the  statements  of  that  beautiful  and  imaginative  poet. 
He  speaks  of  a  river  starting  from  its  fountain,  as  the  most 
appropriate  picture  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Christianity 
The  way  in  which  I  would  apply  the  figure  which  Coleridge 
originated,  is  this.  The  river,  let  us  say,  started  eighteen 
centuries  ago ;  it  flowed  through  a  thousand  lands,  but,  like 
every  river,  it  contracted  in  its  course  stains  and  straws,  pel- 


140  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

lution,  and  coloring  matter,  from  tributary  streams,  and 
from  the  very  nature  of  the  earthly  channels  through  which 
it  continually  poured.  At  last,  after  about  fifteen  centuries, 
and  just  at  the  time  when  its  corruption  and  contamination 
were  the  greatest,  there  happened  to  be  flung  into  it  five  or 
six  massive  rocks,  which  were  invested  with  the  strang-e 
property,  peculiar  to  themselves,  of  acting  as  filterers.  After 
coming  to  these,  one  branch  of  the  river  rushed  onward  and 
through  them,  pure  and  limpid,  just  as  it  burst  forth  from 
its  primeval  fountain ;  another  branch  flowed  away  to  the 
left,  containing  a  less  portion  of  the  original  stream,  and  all 
the  contamination  —  the  "wood,  hay,  stubble,"  which  had 
mingled  with  it  in  its  course.  Now,  what  would  you  think 
if  the  stream  that  flowed  to  the  left,  corrupted  and  polluted, 
became  animated  and  vocal ;  and  looking  upon  the  stream 
that  flowed  right  on  in  its  purity  and  beauty,  exclaimed  — 
"  I  am  the  ancient  and  original  stream  as  I  came  from  the 
fountain;  while  you  are  but  an  upstart  branch,  most  un- 
justly and  unnecessarily  pursuing  a  novel  and  erratic 
course  ?  "  Would  not  every  impartial  judge  reply  —  "  The 
pure  and  limpid  stream  is  the  original,  and  you  are  the 
upstart  and  the  new  one ;  the  former  has  the  primitive 
water,  and  you  the  subsequent  mud  ?  "  Just  so  with  Chris- 
tianity. It  flowed  at  first  from  the  rock  that  was  riven  on 
Calvary,  in  all  its  untainted  and  uncontaminated  glories ; 
but  after  the  lapse  of  centuries,  it  became  mingled  with 
much  that  belonged  to  Caesar,  and  w^as  gathered  from  the 
earth,  earthy ;  in  the  sixteenth  century,  those  rocks,  (second 
only  to  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  second  only  because  laid 
upon  it,)  Luther,  and  Ridley,  and  Latimer,  and  Knox,  and 
their  companions,  took  their  stand  in  the  stream,  and  be- 
came, if  you  will  pardon  the  simile,  moral  filterers ;  —  the 
pure  and  limpid  river  rolled  onward  in  beauty  and  bright- 
ness, clear  as  crystal,  and  divided  into  the  sevenfold  streams 
of  the  various  Christian  communions  that  constitute  the  one 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  141 

river  "that  maketh  glad  tlie  city  of  our  God:"  the  cor- 
rupted waters  flowed  away  to  the  left ;  and,  standing  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  drinking  deep  of  the  poisonous  element, 
the  advocates  of  the  Church  of  Rome  profess  that  they  are 
the  primitive  and  untainted  emanation  from  Christ,  and  that 
we  Protestants  have  recently  sprung  from  Luther,  non- 
existent before,  and  doomed  to  die  with  the  author  of  our 
existence. 

"  But  tell  us,"  says  the  Roman  Catholic  advocate,  "  where 
and  when  the  errors  began,  by  which  you  say  we  are  de- 
formed ;  and  then  we  will  believe  that  they  are  subsequent 
corruptions,  and  therefore  novelties."  Now  this,  we  reply, 
is  trying  to  merge  the  character  of  the  doctrines  in  the  chro- 
nology  of  the  doctrines.  The  question  is  not  when  the  doc- 
trine began  ;  but  the  question  is,  whether  it  is  denounced  as 
error,  or  declared  as  truth,  in  the  oracles  of  God.  If  a  taint 
were  found  in  the  River  Thames,  and  were  two  persons  to 
go  to  London  Bridge,  and  find  this  taint  or  coloring  matter 
there,  and  if  one  were  to  maintain  that  it  was  part  and  par- 
cel of  the  original  water  of  the  river,  and  the  other  were  to 
insist  that  it  had  been  introduced  subsequently  in  its  course ; 
what  would  be  the  best  way  of  determining  the  question  ? 
Surely  it  would  be,  to  proceed  to  the  fountain  out  of  which 
the  Thames  flows  :  and  if  what  is  called  the  taint  be  there, 
it  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  river ;  if  it  be  not  there,  then, 
wherever  and  whenever  it  began,  it  is  no  part  or  constituent 
element  of  the  stream.  So  it  is  with  those  errors  that  are 
disastrously  distinctive  of  the  Church  of  Rome:  the  true 
plan  is,  not  to  trace  upward  their  rise,  and  spread,  and  de- 
velopment through  darkening  ages,  and  confused  centuries, 
and  generations  of  heretics,  and  obscure  folios,  but  to  come 
to  and  examine  the  sacred  fountain,  which  the  Church  of 
Rome  must  profess  to  be  primary  and  original.  If  transub- 
stantiation  be  distinctly  taught  there,  it  is  of  God  ;  if  it  is  not 
taught  there  —  it  matters  not  when  it  began  —  it  is  not  of 
God,  and  is  not  therefore  Christian  truth. 


142  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

The  fact  is,  the  Protestant  Church  is  alone  the  primitive 
and  ancient  representative  of  the  truths  of  God.  I  rise  up 
to  revere  that  Protestant  Church,  as  having  on  her  brow 
the  signature  of  the  maturity  of  age,  radiant  with  the  vigor 
and  the  vitality  of  youth.  And  all  that  we  seek  to  do  is,  to 
detach  from  that  Church  the  gaudy  embroidery,  and  cum- 
brous ornaments,  wherewith  Rome  has  not  adorned  but  de- 
formed her ;  and  to  let  her  look  forth  in  her  primeval  and 
unshorn  glory,  "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  ter- 
rible as  an  army  with  banners ; "  inclosing  in  her  heart  the 
love  and  life  of  her  God,  and  bearing  upon  her  brow  the 
superscription  and  the  likeness  of  her  Lord ;  irradiated  by 
that  light  which  was  kindled  at  the  cross,  and  is  destined  to 
be  merged  only  in  the  more  brilliant  glories  of  the  crown. 

Another  plausible  pretension  of  the  Church  of  Pome  is 
Sanctity. 

If  I  were  to  ask  a  Protestant  what  he  means  by  sanctity, 
he  would  instantly  reply  —  The  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
npon  a  man's  heart,  melting  his  ^\\\\  into  God's  will,  and 
making  his  wishes  run  parallel  with  the  precepts  and  com- 
mandments of  his  holy  laws.  But  if  I  ask  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic —  if  I  ask  Vicar-apostolic  Milner,  the  ablest  advocate  oi 
the  Church  of  Rome,  and  author  of  one  of  the  most  subtle 
books  written  in  her  defence  —  "  The  End  of  Controversy" 
in  which  Roman  Catholics  are  regularly  instructed,  —  he 
tells  me  that  he  understands  by  sanctity  what  his  Church 
has  always  understood  by  this  attribute,  viz. :  her  possessing 
beatified  and  canonized  saints.  Hence,  the  Romish  de- 
fender, in  order  to  show  that  the  Church  of  Rome  has 
sanctity,  does  not  prove  that  her  principles  and  practice  are 
coincident  with  those  inculcated  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  or  with  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  as 
enumerated  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  that  to  the  Galatians  ; 
but  he  shows  that  the  Church  of  Rome  has  given  birth  to  a 
Dominick,  who  with  rosary  and  torch,  helped  to  forward 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  143 

the  Inquisition,  —  to  a  Santa  Rosa,  or  Theresa,  who  were 
illustrious  for  innumerable  wretched  and  self-righteous  aus- 
terities, —  to  an  Aquinas,  the  eloquent  author  of  persecuting 
dogmas,  —  and  to  a  Bonaventure,  infamously  renowned  for 
his  idolatrous  psalter.  But,  in  order  to  give  you  some  in- 
stances of  what  she  counts  sanctity,  I  will  read  to  you  one 
or  two  extracts  from  the  Breviary.  I  may  just  explain,  as 
I  proceed,  that  the  Missal  in  the  Church  of  Rome  answers 
in  ecclesiastical  use  exactly  to  the  Prayerbook  of  the  Church 
of  England,  but  the  Breviary  is  a  book  sui  generis  ;  exclu- 
sively for  the  clergy,  a  certain  portion  of  which  must  be  read 
every  day  by  every  priest  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  if  he 
fail  to  do  so  he  is  in  mortal  sin,  and  cannot  say  Mass. 
Hence,  on  the  Continent,  I  have  seen  priests  reading  this 
book  in  the  diligence  or  on  the  railway ;  and  in  this  country, 
when  it  draws  near  to  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  I  have  known 
some  of  them  step  aside  from  the  amusements  in  which  they 
have  been  pleased  to  join,  and  hasten  into  a  corner  to  peruse 
the  requisite  quantity  of  the  contents  of  the  Breviary,  that 
they  may  thereby  escape  mortal  sin,  and  be  able  to  say 
Mass  the  next  day.  Now,  an  extract  or  two  from  this  book 
will  show  you  the  sort  of  sanctity  possessed  by  the  Church 
of  Rome ;  and  you  will  see  also  that  it  exactly  coincides 
with  the  proofs  of  sanctity  put  forth  by  the  Tractarians  of 
Oxford.  Holiness  —  "doing  justly,  and  loving  mercy,  and 
walking  humbly  with  God"  —  are,  with  these  men,  old- 
fasiiioned,  exploded,  Protestant  doctrine ;  but  wearing  hair- 
cloth belts  and  girdles,  fasting,  and  doing  penance,  are  proofs 
of  sanctity  that  none  but  a  church  with  a  true  succession 
can  manifest. 

I  will  now  read  from  the  Roman  Breviary,  the  Antwerp 
Edition.  I  begin  with  page  591  :  —  St.  Mary  Magdalen  de 
Pazzi :  "  She  tortured  her  body  with  haircloth,  whippings, 
4X)ld,  hunger,  watchings,  nakedness,  and  all  kinds  of  punish- 


144  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

merits."  Again,  St.  Anthony,  Bishop  and  Confessor,  page 
572  :  "  He  lay  down  to  rest  upon  the  ground,  on  the  naked 
boards ;  and  always  wearing  haircloth,  and  sometimes 
girded  with  an  iron  chain  next  to  his  skin,  he  always  com- 
pletely preserved  his  purity."  The  Summer  Portion,  page 
398,  St.  Juliana :  "  She  w^as  wont  to  bruise  her  body  with 
scourges,  knotted  little  ropes,  iron  girdles,  watchings,  and 
sleeping  on  the  naked  ground  ;  she  partook  very  sparingly 
of  food,  and  that  a  vile  sort,  four  days  of  the  week ;  on 
the  other  two  she  was  content  with  only  angels'  food ;  the 
Sunday  was  exempted,  on  w^hich  she  was  nourished  on 
bread  and  water  only."  St.  Jerome  Emilian,  page  483  . 
"  In  a  mountain  having  discbvered  a  cave,  he  hid  himself  in 
it,  where,  beating  himself  with  whips,  and  passing  whole 
days  fasting,  prayer  being  protracted  far  into  the  night,  and 
enjoying  a  short  sleep  upon  the  naked  rock,  he  paid  the 
penalties  of  his  own  faults  and  of  those  of  others."  St.  Ig 
natius  the  Confessor,  page  508  :  "  He  passed  a  year  subdu- 
ing his  flesh  by  a  rough  chain  and  haircloth,  lying  on  the 
ground,  and  bloodying  himself  with  iron  whips."  St.  Caje- 
tan  the  Confessor :  "  He  sometimes  afflicted  his  body  by 
beatings  wdiole  nights,  and  he  never  would  be  persuaded  to 
relax  the  asperity  of  his  life,  witnessing  that  he  desired  to 
die  in  ashes  and  sackcloth."  St.  Francis  Borgia,  page  416, 
the  Autumnal  Portion  :  "  In  that  pursuit  of  a  stricter  mode 
of  life,  Francis  reduced  his  body  to  a  state  of  extreme  thin- 
ness by  fastings,  by  iron  chains,  by  a  very  rough  haircloth, 
by  bloody  and  long  beatings,  and  by  very  short  sleep."  St. 
Theresa,  page  345  :  "  She  burned  with  so  anxious  a  desire 
of  chastising  her  body,  that  although  the  diseases  with  which 
she  was  afflicted  might  have  dissuaded  her  from  it,  she  often 
tortured  her  body  with  haircloth,  chains,  handfuls  of  nettles, 
and  other  very  sharp  scourges,  and  sometimes  she  would 
roll  among  the  thorns;  being  accustomed  thug  to  address 


KOMISH   PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  145 

God,  ^  0  Lord,  be  it  my  lot  to  suffer  or  to  die.' "  These  are 
the  children  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  these  the  proofs  that 
she  has  sanctity  !  * 

The  next  pretension  of  the  Church  of  Rome  is  Aposto- 
licity  ;  or  her  assertion  that  she  maintains  in  all  their  purity 
the  doctrine  and  d'sci^,Iine  of  the  Apostolic  or  primitive 
Church. 

Instead  of  entering  minutely  into  the  merits  of  this  pre- 
tension, let  me  submit  the  following  contrast,  and  then  ask 
if  it  be  possible  to  maintain  becoming  gravity  of  feeling  or 
face  while  we  listen  to  the  claim  of  the  Romish  Church  to 
the  characteristic  mark  of  apostolicity  ?  The  Apostolic 
Church  said  —  "  We  break  one  bread ; "  the  Romish  Church 
says — We  break  no  bread  at  all,  for  the  communion  ele- 
ment ceases  to  be  br .  jd,  and  becomes  flesh  and  blood.  The 
Apostolic  Church  said  —  "  Bodily  exercise  profiteth  little;'* 
the  Church  of  Rome  says  —  It  profiteth  much,  for  in  the 
sacrament  of  penance,  it  leads  to  the  forgiveness  of  sin. 
The  Apostolic  Church  said  — "  Scripture  is  profitable  for 
all ; "  the  Romish  Church  says  —  It  is  not  profitable  to  the 
laity :  the  fourth  rule  of  the  Index  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
containing  these  words,  that  "  inasmuch  as  greater  evil  than 
good  results  from  the  indiscriminate  perusal  of  the  Scrip- 
tures," the  laity  are  forbidden  to  have  them,  except  with  the 
vjritten  permission  of  the  bishop  or  inquisitor.  Again :  the 
Apostolic  Church  said  —  "Prove  all  things;"  the  Romish 
Church  says  —  Prove  nothing,  but  believe  every  thing. 
The  Apostolic  Church  said  —  "A  bishop  must  be  the  hus- 
band of  one  wife ; "  the  Romish  Church  says  —  He  must 
be  the  husband  of  no  wife  at  all.  The  Apostolic  Church 
said  —  "  Marriage  is  honorable  in  all ; "  the  Romish  Church 
says  —  Marriage  is  not  honorable  in  priests.  The  Apostolic 
Church  said  —  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death ; "  the  Romish 

*  See  also  Cardinal  Wiseman's  Life  of  Saint  Liguori,  who  flogged  him 
self  almost  dead. 

13 


146  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Church  says,  (as  every  Roman  Catholic  will  find  in  the  well- 
known  Catechism  called  the  Abridgment  of  Christian  doc- 
trine) —  "  Venial  sin  is  a  light  offence,  such  as  the  stealing 
of  an  apple  or  a  pin,  which  does  not  break  charity  between 
man  and  man,  much  less  between  man  and  God."  The 
illustration  here  derived  from  the  stealing  of  an  apple,  one 
cannot  help  remarking,  is  a  most  unfortunate  one,  for  it  was 
stealing  an  apple  that  — 

"Brouglit  death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe;" 

—  but  let  this  pass.  The  Apostolic  Church  said  —  "  There 
is  one  sacrifice,  once  for  all,  for  the  sins  of  all  that  believe ; " 
the  Romish  Church  says  —  There  are  many  sacrifices,  and 
many  priests,  always  trying,  and  never  able  to  take  away 
sin.  JSTow,  with  this  contrast,  which  every  one  possessed  of  a 
Bible  and  the  Canons  or  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
may  verify,  is  there,  I  ask,  or  can  there  be  any  foundation, 
for  the  pretension  that  the  Romish  Church  is  apostolical  ? 
Her  apostolicity  seems  like  lucus  a  non  lucendo  ;  that  is,  she 
calls  herself  apostolic  because  she  is  not  so.  The  Spirit  of 
God  gives  her  her  true  and  appropriate  name :  she  is  the 
Apostatic  Church. 

Another  pretension  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  her 
declaration  that  within  her  bosom,  and  her  bosom  alone,  is 
there  Certainty,  or  the  dissipation  of  all  doubt,  for  every 
one  who  embraces  her  principles  and  subscribes  her  creed. 
The  argument  of  Romish  priests  is,  "In  the  Protestant 
Church  all  is  uncertainty,  every  one  is  at  sea ;  one  believes 
one  thing  and  another  believes  another,  and  none  can  be 
sure  that  he  is  right ;  but  if  you  enter  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  you  come  into  the  region  of  sunshine,  and  into  pos- 
session of  a  certainty  which  can  neither  mislead  nor  ever 
be  shaken." 

Of  all  churches  under  heaven,  the  Roman  Catholic  has 
the  least  of  the  element  of  certainty  in  her  construction.     I 


KOMISH    PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  147 

give  one  remarkable  proof.  There  is  a  Canon  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent  whicli  every  Roman  Catholic  priest  knows,  and 
which  every  Roman  Catholic  layman  ought  to  know,  in 
which  it  is  declared,  that  if  the  priest  "  should  not  intend  to 
do  what  the  Church  intends,"  in  the  administration  of  any 
of  the  seven  sacraments,  there  is  no  sacrament.  There  are 
seven  sacraments  in  the  Church  of  Rome;  among  which 
are  matrimony,  penance,  holy  orders,  confirmation,  extreme 
unction,  baptism,  and  the  eucharist.*  Now  I  know,  from  no 
questionable  source,  that  many  of  the  priests  in  Ireland,  and 
not  a  few  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  are  infidels  secretly 
at  heart,  and  priests  only  in  profession.  To  give  one  clear 
proof,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nolan,  who,  having  abjured  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith,  became  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, has  stated  that  for  twelve  months  before  he  left  the 
Church  of  Rome,  he  did  not  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  tran- 
substantiation ;  and  adds,  in  his  pamphlet,  which  has  never 
been  replied  to,  that  he  knew  numbers  of  priests  in  Ireland 
who  did  not  believe  in  many  of  the  peculiar  dogmas  of  the 
Romish  faith.  In  all  these  cases,  according  to  the  law  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  in  whicli  the  priest  happened  to  be  an 
infidel  at  heart,  or  where  he  did  not  believe  in  the  sacra- 
ment about  which  he  was  conversant,  nor  hope  nor  intend 
to  eifectuate  what  the  Church  does  and  defines,  there  was 
no  sacrament  at  all,  and  thousands  of  Irish  Romanists  per- 
ished because  they  were  unbaptized  and  without  a  sacrifice. 
If  a  priest  does  not  believe  in  transubstantiation,  he  may 
consecrate  the  wafer,  but  there  is  no  transubstantiation, 
because  his  intention  is  wanting ;  and  the  consequence  is, 
that  in  such  a  case  every  Roman  Catholic  must  adore  what, 
on  his  own  principles,  is  only  flour  and  water,  and  trust  for 
atonement  to  a  sacrifice  which  is  no  sacrifice  at  all.  Let  me 
refer  to  another  sacrament  —  Marriage  :  on  Protestant  prin- 
ciples, a  man  knows  whether  he  be  married  in  the  sight  of 

*  Vide  Sess.  sept,  De  Sacramcntis,  can.  xi. 


148  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

God  or  not ;  on  Roman  Catholic  principles,  no  Roman  Cath- 
olic husband  can  be  sure  that  he  is  a  married  man.  If  the 
priest  who  solemnized  that  sacrament  was  an  infidel,  it  was 
no  sacrament  at  all ;  it  was  a  mockery.  Not  only  so  ;  but 
if  the  bishop  who  ordained  that  priest  was  an  infidel,  Orders 
being  a  sacrament,  it  was  no  ordination ;  if  the  bishop  who 
consecrated  that  bishop  was  an  unbeliever,  or  uncanonical, 
or  simoniacal,  he  was  no  bishop  at  all :  and,  in  fact,  a  Roman 
Catholic  must  be  able  to  trace  the  succession  of  his  bishops 
and  priests,  and  —  what  is  less  easy  —  to  scrutinize  the 
thoughts  of  their  hearts,  up  to  the  days  of  Gregory  the 
Great,  and  beyond  these,  before  he  can  be  sure  that  he  is 
not  living  in  sin,  or  that  he  and  his  wife  are  lawfully  married 
in  the  sight  of  God,  or  that  he  has  ever  received  a  single 
sacrament.  Such  is  certainty  in  the  Church  of  Rome  in 
one  particular  only. 

Another  assumption  of  the  Great  Apostasy  is  Catholicity. 
The  Church  of  Rome  contends  that  she  is  the  Universal  or 
the  Catholic  Church. 

Now,  I  am  prepared  fully  to  admit,  that  no  system  ever 
spread  so  widely  and  fearfully  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  world  as  the  Roman  Catholic  system,  not 
excepting  Christianity  itself  This  dread  despotism  has 
made  her  name  to  be  revered  and  heard  as  the  name  of 
destiny.  She  has  struck  her  superscription  upon  the  litera- 
ture, the  poetry,  the  painting,  of  every  page  of  the  history 
of  Europe ;  she  has  laid  her  polluting  grasp  upon  the  altar 
and  the  throne,  upon  coronets  and  crowns ;  and  the  marks 
of  bloodshed  alone  which  she  has  left  in  her  wake,  do  indis- 
putably testify  that  she  has  spread  her  power  from  the  wilds 
of  the  Arab  to  the  steppes  of  the  Cossack.  But,  while  I 
admit  all  this,  and  deplore  it  too,  I  still  affirm  that  there 
never  'was  a  period  in  the  history  of  Europe  when  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  could  truly  say,  that  she  was 
Strictly  and  literally  Catholic;   that  is,  that  every  human 


ROMISH  PLAUSIBLE  TRETENSIONS.        149 

being  in  Europe,  much  less  in  the  world,  was  a  Roman 
Catholic.  She  it  is  who  contends  for  literalitj  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  every  epithet ;  we  take  her  own  precedent  to 
guide  our  construction,  and  we  assert  that  she  never  was,  as 
she  never  will  be,  Catholic.  Multitudes  belong  to  her: 
"  The  whole  world  wondered  after  the  Beast."  "  She 
sitteth  on  many  waters  —  or,  multitudes  and  tongues  and 
nations."  But  her  greatest  spread  is  only  the  clearest  sign, 
to  heaven  and  earth,  of  her  identity  with  the  Apostasy  and 
her  near  destruction.  I  believe,  that  even  the  true  Church 
is  not  destined  to  be  Catholic  until  the  Jews  shall  be  brought 
in,  and  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  shall  arrive ;  and  "  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  upon  the 
top  of  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  to  it." 

Another  lofty  assumption  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
is  that  of  Infallihility.  If  infallibility  be  actual  and  real, 
we  must  long  to  have  it ;  if  it  be  a  promised  thing,  we  must 
pray  to  possess  it. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  expedient  to  begin  by  giving  you  two 
or  three  specimens  (the  plainest  will  be  the  most  effective), 
of  the  practical  worth  of  Romish  infallibility  in  interpreting 
Scripture;  and  thereby  we  may  judge  of  its  importance 
by  the  ascertained  results  of  its  application  to  the  word  of 
God. 

Pope  Nicholas  the  First,  in  the  exercise  of  this  infalli- 
bility, with  which  he  professed  to  be  invested,  proves  his 
supremacy  from  Acts  x.  13:  "Arise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat;" 
therefore^  says  the  fountain  of  infallibihty,  the  Pope  is 
supreme.  Pope  Boniface  the  Eighth  proves  it  from  Gene- 
sis i.  1 :  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth ; "  the  heaven  representing  the  Pope,  the  earth 
representing  the  secular  power ;  therefore,  the  Pope  is  king 
of  kings.  The  Council  of  Lateran  proves  the  Pope's  su- 
premacy  from  the  7  2d  Psalm :  "  All  kings  shall  bow  down 
before  him." 

13* 


150  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Again :  the  Second  Council  of  Nice  professed  to  prove 
the  worship  of  images  from  this  text  —  "  God  created  man 
in  his  own  image  ; "  and  from  another,  —  "  No  man,  when 
he  hath  lighted  a  candle,  putteth  it  under  a  bushel."  Some 
members  of  this  Council  began  to  complain,  not  of  the 
Council's  authority  (for  that  they  did  not  dispute),  but  of 
the  Council's  logic ;  and  they  said,  that  building  such  doc- 
trines upon  so  flimsy  a  foundation  was  not  good.  The  reply 
of  the  distinguished  president  of  the  Council,  Pope  Adrian 
the  First,  was,  "  I  will  maintain  these  texts  to  be  sufficient 
proof,  in  spite  of  fate."  If  infallibility  makes  no  better 
comments  upon  the  Scriptures,  and  deduces  no  more  justi- 
fiable conclusions  from  its  texts,  we  Protestants  may  be  con- 
tent with  the  exercise  of  private  judgment,  and  the  prom- 
ised aid  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

But  here  let  me  observe,  that  councils  have  contradicted 
each  other,  and  therefore  they  could  not  be  each  infallible. 
The  Council  of  Nice,  which  met  in  the  year  325,  by  impli- 
cation at  least  repudiated  the  Pope's  supremacy;  but  the 
fourth  Council  of  Lateran  pronounced  and  maintained  the 
Pope's  supremacy.  The  apocryphal  books  of  Scripture 
were  not  accepted  by  the  Council  of  Laodicea,  nor  by  any 
other  Council  for  fifteen  hundred  years ;  but  they  were  de- 
clared to  be  as  inspired  as  the  Gospels,  by  the  Council  of 
Trent,  on  April  18,  1546.  The  celibacy  of  the  clergy  was 
rejected  at  the  Council  of  Nice ;  but  it  was  maintained  and 
decreed  by  the  first  Council  of  Lateran.  The  worship  of 
images  and  relics  was  maintained  by  the  second  Council  of 
Nice ;  it  was  condemned  by  the  Council  of  Constantinople, 
in  the  year  754.  The  fourth  Council  of  Constantinople 
declared,  that  Scripture  was  above  tradition ;  the  Council 
of  Trent  declared,  that  tradition  and  Scripture  are  precisely- 
equal.  Now,  in  each  of  these  cases,  if  the  one  Council 
was  infallible,  what  must  the  other  be,  which  contradicts 
it?     Both  cannot  be  infallible.     The  safe  and  more  thaa 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  151 

probable  inference  is,  that  each  and  all  were  very  faUible 
indeed. 

But  if  you  ask  Roman  Catholics,  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  where  the  seat  and  fountain  of  infallibility  is,  you  will 
see  the  absurdity  of  this  claim.  It  may  be  good,  it  may  be 
true,  it  may  be  an  attribute  of  the  Christian  Church ;  but 
if  the  seat,  the  locus  where  it  exists  and  develops  its  inhe- 
rent energies,  cannot  be  discovered,  what  is  its  worth  ?  Now, 
if  you  ask  a  Trans-Alpine  Romanist,  that  is,  a  Roman 
Catliohc  in  Italy,  where  infallibility  rests,  he  instantly 
answers,  —  "In  the  Pope  personally,  speaking  ex  cathe- 
dra;^' that  is,  speaking  from  the  chair,  or  from  the  throne. 
But  ask  a  Cisalpine,  an  English,  or  a  French  Roman  Catho- 
lic where  infallibility  reposes,  and  he  instantly  answers,  — 
"  In  the  Pope,  at  the  head  of,  or  sanctioned  by,  a  General 
Council"  —  as,  for  instance,  the  Council  of  Trent.*  Thus, 
if  I  wish  to  get  an  infallible  interpretation  of  any  one  por- 
tion of  Scripture,  I  am  dependent  on  the  spot  in  which  I 
was  born  for  my  opinions  respecting  the  seat  of  that  infalli- 
biUty,  and  thereby  for  the  meaning  attached  to  that  particu- 
lar portion  of  Scripture.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  if  infal- 
libility be  only  in  the  Pope  at  the  head  of  a  General 
Council,  the  Italian  Romanist  must  be  wrong ;  and  if  it  be 
in  the  Pope  personally  and  alone,  the  French  or  British 
Catholic  must  be  in  error,  but  whether  in  one  or  other,  or 
neither,  is  not  yet  settled. 

As  a  practical  proof  of  the  utter  worthlessness  of  this 
pretension,  I  will  read  to  you  the  second  clause  of  Pope 
Pius's  Creed :  "  I  admit  the  Holy  Scripture,  according  to 
that  sense  which  our  Holy  Mother  the  Church  has  held  and 
does  hold ;  to  whom  it  belongs  to  judge  of  the  true  sense 
and  interpretation  of  Scripture."  In  other  words,  the  Roman 
Catholic  asserts,  that  there  is  in  the  Church  an  infallible  tri- 
bunal; and  that  he  will  interpret  Scripture  only  according 

*  Cone.  Trid.  Sess.  quart.  De  Canonicis  Scripturis. 


152  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

to  the  judgment  of  that  tribunal.  Now,  suppose  that  I  am, 
or  am  disposed  to  become  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  wish  to 
get  an  infallible  comment  upon  a  part  of  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John,  I  go  to  the  nearest  Roman  Catholic  priest  and  I 
ask  for  it ;  his  reply  is  —  "I  am  only  a  private  individual 
priest ;  I  will  give  you  my  best  exposition  of  the  chapter, 
but  I  cannot  give  an  infallible  comment."  I  go  next  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop,  and  I  say,  —  "Your  priest  has 
failed  to  satisfy  me,  and  I  am  perplexed  and  puzzled  by  the 
differences  of  Protestants ;  I  come  to  you  for  such  a  com- 
ment upon  this  portion  of  the  Word  of  God  as  will,  without 
delay,  set  all  my  doubts  at  rest  for  ever;"  —  the  bishop 
replies  —  "I  am  only  an  individual  bishop ;  I  will  give  you 
my  best  judgment,  but  I  am  not  infallible."  I  next  seek  an 
introduction  to  the  Pope  himself,  which  is  probably  granted ; 
and  I  find  Pio  Nono  at  Gaeta,  or  Portici,  or  Rome,  re- 
joiced to  receive  any  Anglican,  or  even  Protestant,  inquiring 
after  truth.  He  takes  me  into  his  private  closet,  and  I  state 
my  difficulty  to  him :  "  I  have  come  from  Britain  to  your 
Holiness,  to  get  an  infallible  exposition  of  this  chapter,  for 
we  Protestants  are  at  issue  about  its  meaning  in  various,  it 
may  be  not  essential,  but  still  somewhat  important  points." 
The  Pope  replies,  —  "  Sir,  I  rejoice  to  see  the  spirit  of  can- 
dor and  inquiry  by  which  you  are  actuated,  and  I  will  be  as 
candid  with  you  myself;  I  will  give  you  an  explanation  of 
the  chapter,  and  as  long  as  you  keep  within  the  bounds  of 
Italy  or  the  Roman  states,  it  will  be  absolutely  infallible, 
unless  heresy  should  have  injured  my  people  since  my  flight 
from  my  capital ;  but  if  you  cross  the  mountains  and  go 
into  France,  or  appear  among  the  Catholics  of  England,  it 
will  be  just  as  fallible  as  the  exposition  of  any  other  bishop 
or  priest."  I  exclaim  — "  What !  is  this  all  the  forced 
infallibility  ?  Does  truth  change  with  climate,  or  suffer  by 
a  voyage  ?  Is  not  truth  eternal,  the  same  in  every  latitude 
and  longitude,  unvarying  in  all  countries  and  in  all  climates, 


ROMISH    PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  153 

like  its  Author  and  its  source,  —  *  the  same  yesterday,  and 
to-day,  and  for  ever ? ' "  The  Pope  replies  —  "I  have  told 
you  what  I  can  do,  and  I  am  sorry  to  dismiss  you  dissatis- 
fied with  me." 

Roman  Catholics  are  indeed  bitterly  deceived.  Infalli- 
bility glistens  before  their  view  like  a  pool  of  quicksilver  — 
attractive  —  brilliant;  but  the  instant  they  try  to  lay  hold 
of  it,  it  slips  through  their  fingers,  and  rushes  away.  Like 
the  mirage  in  the  Asiatic  desert,  it  seems  like  a  refreshing 
stream  in  the  distance,  bubbling  forth  its  living  waters  ;  but 
when  you  come  to  drink  of  it,  you  are  painfully  disappointed, 
and  lind  it  is  only  arid  and  parching  sand.  Were  some 
fearful  disease,  something  like  the  plague,  ravaging  London, 
and  were  it  to  be  announced  that  a  specific  had  been  found 
which  would  cure  the  disease,  I  would  ask  the  most  likely 
person  where  I  might  find  it,  and  he  tells  me  it  is  in  London, 
in  such  a  street,  and  at  such  a  shop ;  I  make  inquiry  there, 
but  the  answer  given  is,  that  it  is  not  to  be  had  in  London, 
but  it  is  at  Manchester ;  I  go  to  Manchester,  and  I  find  that 
I  am  misinformed,  for  I  am  there  told  that  it  is  in  Edin- 
burgh ;  I  go  to  Edinburgh,  and  they  tell  me  I  am  wrong 
again,  for  it  is  in  Paris ;  and  while  I  am  searching  for  the 
cure,  the  plague  gathers  power  and  progress,  and  its  increas- 
ing victims  are  carried  to  their  long  home.  So  is  it  with 
infallibility.  The  Romish  Church  claims  it;  but  she  has 
been  disputing,  for  seven  hundred  years,  where  it  is  lodged ; 
and  souls,  meanwhile,  are  passing  deluded  to  the  judgment- 
seat  of  God ;  and  that  decisive  day  overtakes  them  trusting 
to  the  priest  instead  of  Jesus,  reposing  on  the  vapid  preten- 
sions of  an  unholy  Church,  instead  of  that  precious  blood 
which  alone  "  cleanseth  from  all  sin." 

I  must  now  refer  to  the  favorite  temporary  substitute  pro- 
posed by  the  Tractarians  for  the  more  imposing  pretension 
of  infallibility,  or  rather  the  pioneer  of  their  ultimate  claim 
to  infallibility,  called  the  voice  of  the  Church,    The  language 


154  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

continually  reiterated  by  them  is,  that  the  voice  of  the" 
Church  is  the  criterion  and  standard  of  all  truth,  the  inter- 
preter of  all  Scripture,  the  final  expounder  of  all  perplexi- 
ties and  difficulties.  To  support  this,  they  quote  the  aphorism 
of  Vincentius  Lyrinensis,  Quod  semper,  quod  uhique,  quod 
ah  omnibus;  that  is,  literally  translated,  (but  they  are 
ashamed  to  translate  it,  because  men  of  common  sense 
might  be  tempted  to  laugh  at  their  folly,)  that  which  has 
been  believed  by  everybody  in  every  place  and  in  every 
age.  This  is  Catholic  consent,  the  true  interpreter  of  Scrip- 
ture, the  vaunted  bond  that  binds  together  all  doctrines. 

Now  let  us  just  reflect  how  it  can  be  possible  to  ascertain 
what  has  been  believed  by  everybody  and  every  day  dur- 
ing eighteen  centuries,  and  in  every  spot  of  the  habitable 
globe.  The  impossibility  and  the  absurdity  are  so  transparent 
that  it  needs  only  to  be  stated  in  order  to  be  repelled  with 
derision  or  merited-  contempt.  "  Ah  !  but,"  say  the  Tracta- 
rians,  when  plied  with  this,  "  we  are  not  left  to  gather  it  and 
condense  it  for  ourselves ;  it  is  embodied  in  the  decisions  of 
General  Councils  —  as,  for  instance,  in  those  of  the  Council 
of  Nice.  That  Synod  is  the  exponent  of  the  voice  of  the 
ante-Nicene  Church."  On  hearing  this,  I  ask,  "  Why  must 
we  believe  the  Council  of  Nice  to  be  orthodox  ?  "  "  Be- 
cause it  decreed  orthodox  doctrine,"  is  the  answer.  "  But 
why  was  its  doctrine  orthodox  ?  "  "  Because  the  Council  of 
Nice  decreed  it."  If  the  Oxford  tractators  would  learn 
more  of  Euclid,  and  a  little  less  of  the  schoolmen,  they  would 
cease  to  reason  in  a  circle,  and  to  inculcate  with  lofty  pre- 
tensions what  is  so  plainly  ridiculous. 

But  I  would  state  upon  this  subject,  what  has  been  well 
brought  forward,  (and  I  have  verified  it  at  great  length,)  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Goode,*  in  his  "  Divine  Rule  of  Faith : "  a 

*  Another  work  on  this  controversy,  of  great  eloquence  and  conclusive 
reasoning,  is  *'  Garbett's  Bainpton  Lectures."  A  short  but  effective  refu 
tation  of  Tractarianism  is  contained  in  the  Bishop  of  Ossory's  lato 
Cliarge. 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE    PRETENSIONS.  155 

book  of  rare  research,  unrivalled  excellency  and  scholarship. 
The  Tractarian  says,  the  voice  of  the  Church,  as  expressed 
by  a  General  Council,  is  decisive  of  the  truth  of  a  doctrine : 
I  hold  him  to  this  point.  Now,  in  325,  the  Council  of  Nice 
met ;  and  by  a  majority,  (admitted  by  the  Benedictines  to 
have  been  brought  about  a  good  deal  by  force,  if  more,  on  the 
whole,  by  conviction,)  they  decreed  that  Christ  is  God. 
Twenty-five  years  afterwards,  there  met  two  councils,  which 
were  substantially  one  —  the  Councils  of  Ariminum  and 
Seleucia,  which  Bishop  Stillinglieet  pronounces  to  be  the 
most  general  council  ever  assembled  in  Christendom ;  and 
at  these  two  councils,  the  one  representing  the  Eastern,  the 
other  the  AVestern  Church,  there  met  six  hundred  bishops ; 
and  surely  if  the  three  hundred  bishops  at  Nice  were  the 
voice  of  the  Church,  the  six  hundred  at  Ariminum  and 
Seleucia  must  be  a  still  more  emphatic  exponent  of  its  dog- 
mas. Now,  the  Council  of  Nice,  with  its  three  hundred 
bishops,  decided  that  Christ  is  God ;  the  Council  of  Ari- 
minum and  Seleucia,  with  its  six  hundred  bishops,  rejected 
the  word  consubstantial,  and  substantially  decided  that  Christ 
is  not  God.  If  councils  constitute  the  voice  of  the  Church, 
and  if  a  greater  council  be  a  more  emphatic  and  conclusive 
utterance  of  the  Church's  sentiments  than  a  less,  the  Tracta- 
rians  will,  by  and  by,  be  compelled  to  dele  or  extinguish  the 
first  half  of  their  name,  Tract,  and  leave  the  last  half,  Arians, 
as  the  just  designation  arising  from  their  new  and  consistent 
creed. 

But  the  Tractarians  will  reply,  that  there  is  one  symbol 
which  is  admitted  on  all  sides  to  be  the  voice  of  the  Church, 
and  the  exponent  of  Catholic  doctrine ;  that  usually  called 
The  Apostles'  Creed,  which  they  say  is  at  least  one  proof  of 
an  unbroken  tradition  from  the  primitive  Church  descending 
throughout  every  age.  Now  I  have  examined  various 
fathers,  in  whose  writings  this  creed  is  found,  and  I  find 
clear  evidence  that  it  is  no  continuous  tradition.     Irenaeus, 


156  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

one  father,  gives  the  creed  in  two  different  places,  but  in 
totally  different  words.  It  is  essential  to  a  tradition,  that  the 
words  be  kept  up,  as  well  as  the  substance  ;  if  the  words  are 
changed,  the  tradition  is  mutilated,  and  we  are  so  far  com- 
pletely at  sea.  TertuUian,  again,  gives  this  creed  in  three 
different  places,  and  in  three  different  forms.  Origen  gives 
the  creed  four  times,  and  each  time  differently.  And  Augus- 
tine, Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  and  Eusebius  maintain,  that  the 
creed  was  originally  collected  out  of  Scripture.  Surely,  this 
is  a  most  complete  extinguisher  of  the  Tractarian  assump- 
tion !  Is  it-  not  the  destruction  of  their  last  and  loudest 
assertion  of  having  an  unbroken  tradition  ?  Moreover,  the 
creed  of  the  first  three  centuries,  in  any  of  its  forms,  is  not 
the  same  ivith  the  Apostles'  Creed  in  the  Prayerbook.  It  has 
in  it,  as  it  now  stands,  "I  believe  in  the  holy  Catholic 
Church,  the  communion  of  saints ; "  hut  there  are  no  such 
clauses  in  any  of  the  varied  forms  of  the  ancient  creed.  These 
words  were  foisted  in  at  a  subsequent  period,  and  are  not  in 
the  creed  as  given  by  Irenoeus,  TertuUian,  and  Origen. 
Here,  then,  is  a  tradition,  but  a  failure,  for  it  is  mutilated ; 
here,  too,  is  the  omission  of  Rome's  and  Oxford's  most  ser- 
viceable clauses,  and  therefore  a  proof,  even  to  themselves, 
that  tradition  is  not  to  be  trusted ;  in  short,  that  the  voice  of 
the  Church  as  embodied  in  tradition,  so  far  from  being  a 
competent  criterion  and  determiner  of  all  truth,  is  ^itself  a 
fluctuating  standard. 

What  is  meant  by  the  voice  of  the  Church,  is  understood 
by  its  champions  to  be  the  conclusion  come  to  by  its  clergy. 
This,  I  allege,  is  not  so  likely  to  be  always  truth  as  they  be 
lieve.  It  is  too  true  that  the  greatest  corrupters  of  the  Gos- 
pel have  sprung  from  the  clergy,  not  from  the  laity.  For 
one  heresy  that  has  originated  with  a  layman,  it  is  historical 
fact,  that  twenty  have  originated  with  a  clergyman.  We  are 
forced  by  experience,  as  much  as  principle,  to  hold  no  coun- 
cil or  convocation  of  clergy  to  be  infallible  safeguards  and 


ROMISH   PLAUSIBLE   PRETENSIONS.  157 

guardians  of  truth.  Painful  experience  has  often  taught 
this  lesson.  The  quod  semper,  quod  uhique,  quod  ab  omnibus 
of  Vicentius  approaches  truth  far  more  nearly  when  applied 
to  the  Christian  laity,  though  there,  too,  it  has  failed  fre- 
quently enough. 

Let  me,  then,  call  upon  you  to  be  more  than  ever  thank- 
ful for  the  Gospel,  which  our  Reformers  and  our  Martyrs, 
at  the  expense  ot*  their  life's  blood,  rescued,  and  have  be- 
queathed to  you.  Let  me  conjure  you  to  cleave  to  that  holy 
faith  which  is  embodied  in  the  Oracles  of  God.  I  rejoice 
that  there  is  a  creed  or  confession  of  faith,  by  which  the 
clergy  of  my  church  are  bound,  —  and  I  speak  with  the 
greatest  love  and  respect  for  that  creed ;  but  I  say  —  Care 
less,  if  you  like,  for  the  creeds  of  man ;  care  more  for  the 
Oracles  of  God.  The  Gospel,  or  Christianity,  may  be  ex- 
pressed in  few  and  short  words ;  it  is — no  expiatory  efficacy 
save  in  Christ,  no  sanctifying  energy  save  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  no  conclusive  directory  save  in  Holy  Writ;  the  cross 
without  a  screen,  the  Bible  without  a  clasp,  and  the  way 
from  ruin  to  God's  bosom  without  any  obstruction  save  in 
ourselves.  He  that  holds  these  truths  in  his  head,  and 
heart,  and  life,  either  is,  or  is  not  far  from  being,  a  child  of 
God. 

What  has  this  Protestantism  of  ours  done  for  the  world, 
as  the  evidence  of  its  divine  original  ?  It  has  dived  into  the 
cells  of  the  captive,  and  into  the  hovels  of  the  poor,  and  car- 
ried the  freedom  of  our  faith  to  the  one,  and  the  riches  of 
Christ  to  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  other.  This 
Protestant  Christianity  has  made  our  England  what  Eng- 
land is  —  the  nursery  of  free  men,  and,  with  all  its  faults,  the 
nursery  of  holy  men.  It  has  transformed  almost  every  land 
it  has  touched  into  its  own  celestial  likeness.  It  has  made 
the  Isles  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  like  gems  upon  the  pathless 
deep ;  it  has  substituted  the  songs  of  Zion  for  the  warwhoop 
of  the  Indian,  and  the  chimes  of  Sabbath  bells  for  the  noise 
14 


158  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY, 

of  battle.  It  still  goes  forth  the  ambassaaress  of  heaven, 
and  the  benefactress  of  earth ;  it  sows  on  the  bosom  of  every 
land  the  seeds  of  truth,  and  love,  and  holiness,  and  teaches 
us  surely  to  anticipate  golden  harvests.  Italy  and  Spain  are 
proofs  of  the  degrading  effects  of  Romanism,  where,  as  in 
the  former  case,  there  are  more  than  sufficient  priests. 
England  and  Scotland  are  proofs  of  what  Protestantism,  in- 
adequately applied  from  the  fewness  of  its  teachers,  can 
effect. 

My  dear  Protestant  friends,  the  age  is  come  when  Ro- 
manists and  their  pioneers  the  Tractarians  would  spoil  you 
of  the  pearl  of  inestimable  price  —  when  open  assailants 
would  wrench  from  you  the  precious  deposit  contained  in 
your  Bibles.  I  abjure  you  to  be  firm;  merge  all  that  is 
little,  and  melt  all  that  separates  in  holy  and  firm  union. 
Concede  prejudices,  but  compromise  no  principle. 


-     [159] 


LECTURE     VI 


APOSTOLICAL    SUCCESSION. 


Tnis  doctrine,  called  the  Apostolical  Succession,  may  or 
may  not  be  a  good  thing.  If  those  who  are  its  advocates  in 
the  present  day,  had  restricted  themselves  to  the  assertion 
of  the  claim  that  their  ministry  has  to  this  apostolical  suc- 
cession, we  might  have  assented ;  we  should  at  least  have 
made  no  objection  to  their  assumj)tion  of  it ;  they  might,  on 
catching  it,  have  laid  it  up  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at 
Oxford,  or  they  might  have  exhibited  it  as  antiquarians  do 
some  ancient  and  curious  thing,  to  be  looked  at  and  ad- 
mired; and  they  might,  in  some  measure,  I  allow,  have 
congratulated  themselves  upon  possessing  it.  If  all  that  is 
meant  by  it  is  the  necessity  of  a  regular  ministry,  trans- 
mitted in  ordinary  circumstances  from  minister  to  minister, 
in  the  line  of  bishops  or  presbyters,  we  should  be  silent, 
because  satisfied.  But  the  objection  we  have  is,  not  that  it 
may  or  may  not  be  true  in  any  sense,  not  that  it  may  or 
may  not  be  relatively  important,  but  that  it  is  substantially, 
and  with  most  mischievous  results,  made  "  the  article  of  a 
standing?  or  a  fallino'  Church."  Let  there  be  no  assumed 
apostolical  succession  in  the  sense  which  I  reprobate,  and 
then,  as  we  are  told,  there  may  be  the  loftiest  spirituality  in 
the  minister,  there  may  be  the  sublimest  piety  in  the 
hearers,  there  may  be  the  most  clear  and  conclusive  evi- 
dences that  the  God  of  the  universe  bows  the  heavens  to 
own  the  ministrations  of  his  servant,  yet  all  is  void ;  there 
•2s  no  genume  Christianity,  there  are  no  valid  sacraments,  no 


160  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

ministry,  no  Church,  no  heaven,  no  hope,  and  uncovenanted 
mercies  are  the  only  refuge.  And  vice  versa^  so  greatly  is 
this  doctrine  prized,  that  if  this  succession  be  present,  then, 
according  to  Tridentine  and  Tractarian  views,  it  matters 
not  very  much  that  there  may  be  idolatry  in  the  desk, 
superstition  in  the  pulpit,  and  blasphemy  upon  the  altar; 
if  the  succession  be  there  in  its  integrity,  there  must  be  a 
true  Church  of  Christ,  a  true  ministry,  and  valid  sacra- 
ments. 

The  Church  of  Rome,  because  she  possesses,  or  is  sup- 
posed to  possess,  the  apostolical  succession,  is  "  our  dear  sis- 
ter," and  "  Christ's  holy  home ; "  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
because  she  is  supposed  to  have  it  not,  is  "  Samaria,"  that  is, 
not  far  from  the  promised  land,  but  still  out  of  it ;  and  the 
Dissenters  are  summarily  consigned,  without  exception,  to 
"  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God,"  not  because  they  do 
not  preach  the  Saviour,  but  because  they  cannot  —  and,  as 
I  will  prove  to  you  by  and  by,  they  in  the  Church  of  Rome 
and  England  cannot  —  trace  their  genealogy,  link  by  link, 
until  at  last  tliey  land  at  the  throne  of  Peter,  or  the  foot- 
stool of  Paul. 

You  will  observe,  further,  that  in  the  remarks  I  may 
make  upon  this  occasion,  I  do  not  lay  any  stress  on  the 
assumption,  that  diocesan  Episcopacy  is  unscriptural,  or  the 
reverse.  It  may  be  scriptural,  or  it  may  not ;  on  that  point 
I  state  nothing ;  my  simple  position  is,  that  apostolical  suc- 
cession, in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  explained  by  those  who 
are  its  advocates,  cannot  be  proved  to  be  a  reality,  even  if 
Episcopacy  can  be  shown  to  be  a  Divine  institution,  and 
justly  deducible  from  the  Sacred  Volume. 

I  may  however  notice  here,  that  the  Tractarian  section  of 
the  Church  of  England  is  not  solely  to  blame  for  attaching 
so  much  to  apostolical  succession  ;  for  many  of  the  Scottish 
Covenanters  assumed  the  same  thing,  and  held  that  Presby- 
tery was  so  truly  jure  divino,  that  Episcopacy  was  fatally 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  161 

wrong  upon  the  one  hand,  and  Independency  as  much  so  on 
the  other.  This  is  just  the  idolatry  of  the  apostolical  suc- 
cession made  to  dovetail  with  a  more  popular  form  of  Church 
polity.*  I  must,  however,  express  my  belief  that  if  the 
apostolical  succession  be  a  historical  fact,  the  presbyters  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland  have  it  as  truly,  and  with  greater 
probability  of  certainty  through  presbyters,  as  the  Church 
of  England  has  it  through  bishops.  The  Tractarian  argu- 
ment against  this  position  is,  that  presbyters  cannot  give 
what  they  were  never  appointed  to  give ;  and  that  as  they 
were  never  appointed  to  ordain,  they  cannot  ordain,  and  so 
they  cannot  keep  up  the  succession.  This  proceeds  on  an 
hypothesis  no  Scottish  Presbyter  concedes ;  and  the  argu- 
ment, besides,  proves  too  much ;  and  what  proves  too  much, 
so  far  fails  to  prove  the  point  for  which  it  is  quoted.  For 
instance,  a  bishop  is  not  authorized,  according  to  any  form 
of  consecration  that  I  have  ever  read,  to  consecrate  other 
bishops ;  and,  therefore,  the  very  same  argument  that  would 
prove  presbyters  incapable  of  ordaining  other  presbyters  — 
because  it  is  not  expressed  in  their  commission  and  appoint- 
ment —  would  prove  bishops  incapable  of  consecrating  other 
bishops.  But  the  truth  is,  and  it  is  a  law  laid  down  by  Je- 
rome, a  father  of  the  Latin  Church,  that  what  a  man  has, 
that  he  can  give  ;  and  upon  this  ground,  Jerome  held  that 
the  laity  could  baptize  and  that  bishops  could  consecrate 
(for  in  his  day  bishops  began  to  consecrate),  because  they 
had  themselves  been  consecrated  ;  and  that  in  the  same  way 
could  presbyters  ordain,  because  they  had  been  ordained 
themselves. 

It  may  also  be  discovered  that  Patristic  reference  will 

*  The  identifying  of  the  mind  of  Christ  with  a  majority  of  the  General 
Assembly  prior  to  1843,  was  a  progression  in  the  direction  of  Rome,  which 
was  only  cut  short  by  the  Secession  of  that  year,  and  prevented  from 
ending  in  evil  by  the  piety  and  excellence  of  the  ministers  who  took  a 
;/art  in  it. 

14* 


162  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

prove  neither  Presbytery  nor  P^iiscopacy.  If  we  are  to 
refer  to  the  ancient  fathers,  and  be  guided  by  the  very  books 
quoted  by  Tractarians,  it  will  be  seen  that  some  of  the  chief 
notions  promulgated  by  Tractarians  will  not  only  be  wholly 
overthrown,  but  that  the  opposite  views  which  they  hate 
will  be  vindicated,  by  the  very  standards  to  which  they  ap* 
peal.  They  have  referred,  for  instance,  to  the  ancient 
fathers  for  the  doctrine,  that  the  clergy  are  so  completely 
elevated  above  and  separate  from  the  people,  that  they  are 
invested  with  awful,  and  mysterious,  and  inapproachable 
functions ;  and  that  they  are  (to  use  the  language  of  an  old 
Popish  schoolman)  as  "  the  mountain,"  and  the  laity  as  "  the 
beasts,  that  might  not  touch  the  mountain  lest  they  be  con- 
sumed." Now,  instead  of  this  doctrine  being  supported  by 
all  the  fathers,  I  am  prepared  to  prove,  by  extracts  from 
some  of  the  fathers,  that  not  only  were  bishops  and  presby- 
ters allowed  to  preach,  but  the  laity  also.  Not  that  I  ap- 
prove of  disorder,  or  would  sanction  irregularity  in  a  duly 
constituted  Church  ;  but  it  is  mentioned  by  some  of  the  an- 
cient fathers  as  matter  of  fact,  that  the  laity  were  allowed  to 
preach  and  baptize,  and  that  these  sacred  functions  were 
not  restricted  to  the  clergy.  It  is  also  a  striking  fact,  care- 
fully concealed  by  the  Tractarians,  that  so  far  from  con- 
demning the  discharge  of  these  functions  by  the  laity,  the 
fathers  approved  of  it.  Thus  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  Bishop  of  Caesarea  allowed  Origen  to  preach  *  before  he 
had  been  ordained  at  all ;  and  upon  another  Bishop  writing 
to  them,  and  complaining  of  this,  these  two  bishops  replied 
as  follows ;  "  You  write,  that  you  never  before  heard  that 
laymen  should  preach  in  presence  of  bishops :  in  this  you 
have  widely  and  strangely  wandered  from  the  truth ;  when 

*  'EviJa  Koi  6ui?ieyea-&ai  rag  re  d^elag  kpurjveveLv  ypa^ug  km  tov  kolvov 
TTJg  kKK%7jaiag  ol  rySe  tmaKOiroL,  Kacroi  rfjg  tov  TTpea^vrepiov  x^i-poroviac 
cv6eTTCi  TervxVKOTa,  avrbv  Ti^lovv.  —  Euseb.  lib.  vi.  c.  19,  p.  196.  Oxon. 
1845. 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  163 

there  are  found  such  as  are  able  to  profit  the  brethren,  the 
bishops  exhort  them  to  preach."  *  Now,  here  is  the  assertion 
of  a  fact ;  and  though  the  fathers  as  expositors  of  doctrine 
are  not  to  be  trusted,  they  are  invaluable  as  witnesses  to 
facts.  So  also  Hilary  the  Deacon,  in  his  Comment  on 
Ephesians,  says,  "It  was  granted  to  all  at  first,  the  laity  as 
well  as  the  clergy,  both  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  to  bap- 
tize." The  Tractarians  say,  Gro  to  the  fathers  for  the  lofty 
assumptions  and  claims  of  the  clergy ;  I  go  to  the  fathers, 
and  it  turns  out  that  they  prove  the  very  reverse  of  that  for 
which  they  are  quoted.  Let  us  not  lay  too  much  stress  on 
the  fathers,  lest  it  turn  out,  that  there  is  in  the  fathers  as 
much  of  Independent  church  government  (though  I  am  no 
upholder  of  it)  as  there  is  either  of  the  Tractarian  or  Romish 
views  of  Episcopacy. 

Let  me  now  proceed  to  show  you,  by  two  simple  state- 
ments, what  is  really  understood  by  apostolical  succession. 
It  is,  in  the  first  place,  supposed  that  each  bishop  has  been 
consecrated  by  his  contemporary  bishops  on  the  death  of  his 
predecessor,  and  that  no  one  link  in  the  long  line  of  succes- 
sive consecrators  or  consecrations  is  wanting  between  Dr. 
Bird  Sumner,  the  present  excellent  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  St.  Peter,  St.  Timothy,  or  St.  Paul.  The  second 
position  is,  that  ordination  performed  by  succession  bishops 
only,  is  valid  ;  and  that  the  party  obtaining  this  ordination 
thereby  receives  all  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Spirit,  by 
which  his  act  and  deed  give  vitality  and  virtue  to  every 
sacrament  and  ordinance  he  administers.  These  are  the 
two  great  positions  of  those  who  advocate  what  is  called  the 
apostolical  succession.  The  simplest  illustration  of  it  that  I 
can  give  you,  would  be  a  long  magnetic,  galvanic,  or  electric 
chain,  starting  at  the  foot  of  an  apostle,  and  extending 
downwards  to  the  present  Primate  of  all  England ;  to  the 
first  link  of  which  was  imparted  a  mysterious  and  subtle 

*  Vide  Euseb.  lib.  vi.  cap.  19,  p.  197.  Oxon.  1845. 


164  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

element  or  virtue,  which  has  been  transmitted  by  successive 
consecrations,  from  hnk  to  Hnk,  parallel  with  the  plane  of 
the  earth,  until  it  has  reached  the  bishops  of  the  present 
day,  on  whose  heads,  as  in  reservoirs,  it  is  condensed  and 
ready  for  use  and  transmission  to  their  successors. 

Now,  you  will  see  at  once,  that  if  the  first  link  in  a  long 
chain  is  wanting,  the  whole  falls  to  the  ground.  Or  if 
twenty  links  in  the  middle  of  a  chain  are  wanting,  the  whole 
falls  to  the  ground.  Or  if  in  this  electric  chain  of  which  I 
have  been  speaking,  some  links  in  the  middle,  instead  of 
being  suitable  conductors  of  the  mysterious  virtue,  are  inca- 
pable of  transmitting  it  —  or  are  so  vitiated  that  the  current 
must  fly  off  by  a  centrifugal  force ;  then,  again,  the  trans- 
mission is  arrested  and  dissipated,  and  all  post  et  propter  hoc 
is  vitiated.  In  all  these  respects  I  am  ready  to  prove  that 
the  apostolical  succession  belongs  to  those  things  called 
"  endless  genealogies,  which  minister  questions,  rather  than 
godly  edifying." 

My  first  statement  will,  I  think,  go  far  to  prove  that  the 
apostolical  succession  never  began.  If  it  never  began,  in 
the  sense  in  which  they  assume  it,  it  can  be  of  no  use  to 
prove  that  there  is  the  remainder  of  it  for  the  last  two  or 
three  hundred  years.  If  there  were  a  chain  stretching  from 
one  side  of  the  Thames  to  the  other,  consisting  of  a  thousand 
links,  it  will  be  of  no  avail  to  prove  to  me  that  nine  hundred 
and  ninty-nine  links  adhere  to  each  other,  if  the  first  link  be 
wanting  —  the  very  link  that  must  connect  it  with  the  Sur- 
rey side  —  as  the  chain  must  lie  upon  the  ground  and  be 
worthless  as  a  connection  between  the  south  and  north  sides ; 
and  it  would  be  of  no  service,  were  a  person  to  stand  on  the 
Middlesex  side  of  the  river,  and  hold  one  end  of  the  chain, 
and  say,  "  This  is  an  entire  communication  ; "  and  because 
it  descends  into  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  is  lost  in  the  mud, 
and  you  cannot  trace  it,  to  endeavor  to  make  you  believe 
that  there  is  no  doubt  it  reaches  to  the  opposite  side,  is  duly 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  165 

fixed,  and  is  a  real  communication  with  Lambeth.  Before 
you  can  trust  to  it,  you  must  see  the  whole  chain  ;  and  if  it 
wants  one  link,  it  is  worth  nothing  for  the  purpose  for  which 
it  is  stretched  across.  Now  I  will  show  you,  that  in  the  far 
stretching  chain  of  succession  to  the  apostles,  the  very  first 
link  after  the  apostles  is  wanting. 

My  proof,  on  this  point,  is  drawn  from  the  recorded  state 
of  the  see,  (using  the  word  in  the  ancient  sense,)  or  bishop- 
ric, or  oversight,  or  by  whatever  equally  suitable  name  it 
may  be  called,  of  Alexandria.  Eutychius  of  Alexandria 
states,  that  St.  Mark  the  Evangelist  first  of  all  preached  the 
Gospel  at  Alexandria :  "  Moreover,"  says  Eutychius,  "  Mark 
appointed  twelve  presbyters,  with  Ananias,  on  whose  head 
the  other  eleven  might  place  their  hands,  and  bless  him  and 
create  him  patriarch  or  bishop,  and  then  choose  some  excel- 
lent man,  and  appoint  him  presbyter  with  themselves  in 
place  of  him.  Nor  did  this  custom,  that  the  presbyters 
should  create  their  patriarch,  cease  at  Alexandria  until 
the  time  of  Alexander,  who  was  of  the  number  of  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  bishops  who  met  together  at  the 
Council  of  Nice.  He  forbade  the  presbyters  to  create  the 
patriarch  for  the  future,  and  decreed,  that  when  the  patri- 
arch was  dead,  the  bishops  should  meet  together  and  then 
ordain  a  patriarch  in  his  stead."  It  is  here  distinctly  de- 
clared, that  during  the  three  hundred  years  that  preceded 
the  Council  of  Nice  —  that  is,  up  to  325  —  the  custom  in 
Alexandria  was,  not  for  other  bishops  to  consecrate  the 
bishop  that  was  to  be  the  head  of  the  diocese,  but  for  the 
twelve  presbyters  to  meet  together  and  choose  one  of  them- 
selves as  chairman,  or  moderator,  or  patriarch;  and  their 
choice  and  designation,  without  any  consecration  by  a  bishop, 
was  ipso  facto  and  de  jure  the  appointment  of  that  bishop. 
This  is  utterly  opposed  to  recent  views,  and  even  on  mod- 
erate Episcopal  principles,  it  is  irregular  at  least.  If  all 
the  presbyters   of  London  were  to  meet  together  at  the 


166  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

death  of  the  present  Bishop  of  London,  and  to  elect  one  of 
themselves  as  bishop  and  consecrate  him,  every  Tractarian 
would  protest  against  it  as  a  departure  from  the  vital  laws 
of  the  Church,  and  an  utter  interruption  and  destruction  of 
the  succession ;  and  such  a  person  would  be  pronounced  to 
be  no  more  bishop  than  I  should  be  held  to  be  their  diocesan 
by  the  same  party.  But  if  it  be  the  fact  that  the  presby- 
ters thus  originally  constituted  their  bishops  in  so  great  a 
see,  and  if  it  be  the  fact  also  that  there  is  no  transmission 
of  the  apostolical  succession  where  there  is  no  consecration 
by  bishops,  then  I  ask,  Can  any  one  of  the  present  bishops 
of  the  English  Church  prove  that  his  succession  and  conse- 
cration may  not  be  derived  from  some  of  the  elected  said 
bishops,  who  were  merely  non-consecrated  presbyters  of 
Alexandria,  and  so,  after  all,  be  null  on  Tractarian  princi- 
ples, however  sound  and  admissible  on  ours  ?  Sure  we  are, 
there  is  a  risk  of  some  non-conducting  link  being  introduced 
into  the  chain,  during  these  three  hundred  years,  when  a 
custom  prevailed  in  so  important  and  influential  a  diocese, 
so  opposite  to  that  which  is  now  thought  essential. 

This  view  may  be  confirmed  by  another  historical  state- 
ment, extracted  from  Severus :  "  The  presbyters  and  people 
were  collected  together  at  Alexandria,  and  laid  their  hands 
on  Peter,  a  priest,  and  placed  him  on  the  patriarchal  throne 
of  Alexandria,  in  the  tenth  year  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian." 
The  words  are  — "  Congregates  fuisse  Alexandriee  sacer- 
dotes  et  plebem,  manusque  imposuisse  super  Petrum,  eumque 
collocasse  in  sede  patriarchali  Alexandrino."  And  Jerome, 
a  Latin  father,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  states, — 
"At  Alexandria,  from  Mark  the  Evangelist  to  the  bishops 
Heraclas  and  Dionysius,  presbyters  always  called  one  elected 
from  among  themselves,  and  placed  him  in  higher  rank  as 
their  bishop ;  just  as  an  army  may  elect  its  general,  or  dea^ 
cons  elect  one  of  themselves,  and  call  him  the  archdeacon." 
—  {Epist.   ad  Evagr.   146.)      These   collateral  witnesses 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  167 

prove,  equally,  that  the  custom  existed  at  Alexandria  of  the 
presbyters  consecrating,  or  appointing,  or  ordering  their 
bishops.  And  if  this  be  the  fact,  (and  we  have  the  best  of 
all  demonstration  of  it,  because  it  is  proved  by  the  very  wit- 
nesses to  whom  the  Tractarians  appeal,)  then,  we  repeat  it, 
as  the  appointment  of  presbyters  was  the  only  consecration 
that  was  had  in  that  city  during  three  centuries,  the  element 
which,  upon  Tractarian  principles,  is  essential  to  the  trans- 
mission of  the  succession,  was  altogether  wanting,  and  this 
vicious  procedure  may  have  infected  all  parts  of  the  Church. 

Still  further  to  confirm  this  position,  and  show  that  Alex- 
andria was  not  singular,  I  will  read  an  extract  from  St. 
Ambrose,  in  his  comment  on  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  Com.  iv. 
11:  "The  apostle  sends  Timothy,  created  by  him  a  pres- 
byter or  bishop,  (for  the  chief  presbyters  were  called 
bishops,)  that  when  he  departed,  the  one  that  followed  in 
rotation  might  succeed  him."  Now,  it  is  perfectly  clear  to 
my  mind,  without  trenching  upon  any  argument  against 
Episcopacy,  or  for  Presbytery,  that  Timothy  was  not  con- 
secrated a  bishop  as  a  Tractarian  holds  it  requisite  for  a 
bishop  to  be,  but  simply  ordained  a  presbyter.  My  reason 
is  this :  the  apostle  says,  (1  Timothy  iv.  14,)  that  Timothy 
was  ordained  by  "  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery." 
But,  on  Tractarian  principles,  presbyters  cannot  make,  or 
share  in  making,  a  bishop :  bishops  must  make  a  bishop,  and 
yet  Timothy  was  made  a  bishop  by  presbyters  only.  The 
first  link  in  the  long  successional  chain  on  which  the  Trac- 
tarians rely,  is  wanting,  I  fear,  in  this  early  instance  also. 
If  Timothy  was  not  consecrated  a  bishop,  it  is  quite  clear 
that  the  apostolical  succession  never  began ;  and  if  it  never 
began,  it  does  not  matter  where  they  may  find  it  in  the 
middle  ages,  or  what  ministers  it  may  be  supposed  to  irra- 
diate in  the  present  day. 

Again:  Ambrose,  in  his  comment  upon  1  Tim.  iii.  8, 
says,  —  "  The  order  of  a  bishop  and  a  presbyter  is  one  and 


168  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  same  thing.  Each  is  a  presbyter,  but  the  bishop  is 
chief;  so  that  every  bishop  is  a  presbyter,  but  not  every 
presbyter  a  bishop,  for  he  is  a  bishop  who  is  chief  among 
the  presbyters ;''  in  other  words,  the  chief  presbyter  is,  as 
such,  the  bishop.  And  Irenseus,  against  Heretics,  c.  43,  b. 
iv.  p.  343,  says,  —  "  We  ought  to  obey  those  presbyters  who 
are  in  the  Church ;  those,  I  mean,  who  have  succession 
from  the  apostles."  When  Irenaeus  speaks,  you  see,  of 
apostolical  succession,  it  is  in  a  line  of  presbyters,  not  in  the 
line  of  bishops ;  the  former  being  as  I  believe  the  only  line 
on  which  it  can  be  defended  and  maintained  with  any  thing 
like  presumptive  evidence.  In  short,  it  is  the  fact,  that  at 
a  very  early  age  chief  presbyters  were  bishops ;  they  had 
been  ordained  presbyters,  but  they  received  the  superinten- 
dence, though  not  the  consecration  of  modern  bishops ;  and 
not  being  consecrated  bishops,  they  could  not,  upon  Tracta- 
rian  principles,  transmit  the  succession  to  other  bishops  ;  and 
the  chain  has  therefore  no  beginning,  and  the  claim  of  apos- 
tolical succession  is  an  "  endless  genealogy." 

But,  suppose  I  grant  that  the  apostolical  succession  began, 
in  the  Tractarian  sense  of  it,  I  allege  that  there  is  no  evi- 
dence whatever  of  its  regular  transmission,  but  every  pre- 
sumption, nay,  certainty,  that  it  was  vitiated  and  broken  a 
hundred  times.  Eusebitis,  the  most  ancient  ecclesiastical 
historian,  says  he  could  find  the  successor,  not  of  all  the 
apostles,  but  only  of  some  of  the  most  illustrious.  "  Who 
were  they,"  continues  he,  "that,  imitating  these  apostles, 
were  thought  worthy  to  govern  the  churches  which  they 
planted,  it  is  no  easy  thing  to  tell,  except  what  may  be  gath- 
ered from  Paul's  own  words."  And  Bishop  Jewell,  in 
speaking  of  Harding,  says,  —  "  Hereby  it  is  clear  ;  that  of 
the  four  first  bishops  of  Rome,  Mr.  Harding  cannot  tell  us 
who  in  order  succeeded  the  other,  and  thus  talking  so  much 
of  succession,  they  are  not  well  able  to  blaze  their  own." 
Bishop  Stillingfleet,  in  his  Irenicum,  Part  II.  chap.  6,  says, 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  169 

•-'  The  succession  of  Rome  is  as  muddy  as  the  Tiber.'* 
He  then  shows,  that  Tertullian  puts  Clement  next  to  Peter ; 
Augustine  puts  Cletus  and  Linus  next ;  and  Irenaeus  puts 
Anacletus  before  Peter :  and  speaking  of  the  British  Church, 
the  same  Bishop  says,  —  "From  the  loss  of  records,  we 
cannot  draw  down  the  succession  of  bishops  to  our  time 
from  the  apostles'  time."  So  much  for  the  earliest  records 
of  the  transmission  of  the  succession. 

There  is  one  field  in  which  there  was  demonstrably  no 
beginning  to  the  Tractarian  apostolical  succession ;  that  is, 
Scotland.  Historical  records  show,  that  Christianity  was 
first  introduced  into  Scotland  in  the  year  203 ;  but  a  dio- 
cesan bishop  was  not  introduced  into  it  till  the  year  429, 
when  Palladius  was  sent  by  the  then  reigning  Pope.  My 
authorities  for  this  are  —  Prosper  Aquitanus,  Bede,  and 
John  of  Fordoun.  The  Breviary  of  Aberdeen,  a  Homan 
Catholic  document,  which  the  priests  then  read  evei-y  day, 
contains  the  following  statement :  "  The  Scots  had  for  teach- 
ers of  the  faith,  and  ministers  of  the  sacraments,  presbyters 
and  monks,  following  only  the  rite  and  custom  of  the  prim- 
itive Church."  The  words  are :  "  Habentes  fidei  doctores 
et  sacramentorum  ministros,  presbyteros  et  monachos, 
primitivae  ecclesiae  solummodo  .sequentes  ritum  et  consue- 
tudinem." 

John  Major,  in  his  "  History  of  Britain,"  book  ii.  chap.  2, 
(who  is  declared,  by  a  celebrated  critic,  to  be  more  dis- 
tinguished for  his  love  of  truth  than  for  his  eloquence,)  says, 
that  "  the  Pope  consecrated  Palladius  in  the  year  429,  and 
sent  him  to  Scotland,  for  the  Scots  were  first  taught  by  pres- 
byters, without  bishops."  In  Scotland,  then,  the  apostolical 
succession,  in  the  Tractarian  sense,  did  not  begin  till  429. 
But  how  much  will  the  reader  be  surprised,  when  I  tell  him 
that  some  of  the  bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church,  at  this 
moment,  have  no  other  apostolical  succession  than  what  they 
can  trace  through  primitive  Scottish  presbyters.  I  reverence 
15 


170  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

and  love  these  bishops  the  more  fully,  not  less  especially  if 
like  their  primate  they  are  distinguished  for  their  love  of 
Evangelical  religion.  It  is  on  record,  that  Scottish  presby- 
ters appointed  one  of  themselves  Bishop  of  York,  and 
another  Bishop  in  one  of  the  midland  districts  of  England  j 
and  on  this  rests  a  part  at  least  of  the  present  succession  of 
the  bishops  in  England :  and  so  this  result  must  evolve  — 
that  if  ordination  by  Scottish  ministers  be  invalid,  and  sacra- 
ments void  which  are  administered  by  clergy  so  ordained, 
the  whole  fabric  of  the  TraCtarian  apostolical  succession  in 
England  is  undermined. 

Let  me  give  you  particulars  in  proof  of  this.  Aidan  was 
selected  by  the  presbyter}^  of  lona,  and  appointed  to  bo 
bishop  in  England ;  and  the  same  presbytery  of  lona  conse- 
crated Colman  to  the  archbishopric  of  York  in  the  seventh 
century.  Archbishop  Usher,  who  is  no  slight  authority, 
says,  that  "  the  Scots  that  professed  no  subjection  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  were  they  that  sent  preachers  for  the  con- 
version of  the  counties  of  England,  and  ordained  bishops  to 
govern  them."  Gilbert  Murray,  a  Scotch  priest,  and  subse- 
quently made  a  bishop,  addressed  the  Pope's  Legate,  and 
said,  "  The  Scottish  Church,  before  the  consecration  of  its 
first  bishop,  (which  was  a.  d.  429,)  did  ordain  and  conse- 
crate the  bishops  of  England  for  the  period  of  thirty  years.'' 
I,  therefore,  can  stand  before  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  I  can,  wdth  profound  respect,  tell  him,  — 
"  If  my  orders  are  invalid,  your  Grace's  are  invalid  too ;  if 
the  sacraments  administered  by  my  hands  are  vitiated,  the 
sacraments  administered  by  your  Grace's  hands  are  vitiated 
too."  Might  I  not  whisper,  not  to  the  primate  but  to  the 
Tractarians, "  Those  that  live  in  glass  houses,  should  be  very 
careful  how  they  throw  stones  ?  " 

But  let  me  show  you,  that  if  the  said  succession  in  the 
Church  of  England  has  thus  been  vitiated,  (I  am  speaking 
of  it  only  in  the  Tractarian  sense,)  it  is  equally  vitiated  in 


THE    APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  171 

Ite  Church  of  Ireland ;  and  I  especially  note  this,  because 
some  Irish  clergymen  have  maintained,  that  even  if  it  be 
vitiated  in  England,  it  has  always  been  kept  pure  and  uncon- 
taminated  in  Ireland.  I  quote  one  proof  from  the  many.  In 
a  celebrated  work,  the  Monasticum  Hihernicum,  I  read,  that 
"  Colman,  a  bishop  in  England,  having  orders  only  which  he 
received  from  the  presbyters  of  lona,  was  no  sooner  settled 
in  Innisbifonde,  than  that  place  became  a  bishopric."  So 
that,  an  individual  who  was  consecrated  and  ordained  a  chief 
presbyter  or  bishop  by  presbyters  only,  was  the  founder  of 
one  of  the  dioceses  in  Ireland :  and  thus  the  Irish  Church 
exactly  shares  in  the  calamity,  which  I  do  not  think  a 
calamity,  of  the  sister  English  Church,  in  having  no  claim 
or  pretension  whatever  to  apostolical  succession,  in  the 
Tractarian  sense. 

You  have  heard  of  a  northern  divine  of  the  Church  of 
England,  who  preached*  and  even  ventured  to  print  a  sermon 
from  the  text,  "  Hear  the  Church ; "  on  which  three  words, 
torn  and  wrenched  from  their  context,  he  raised  the  extrava- 
gant superstructure  after  the  manner  of  Romish  priests  — 
"  Listen  to  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  presbyters  of  a  par- 
ticular branch  of  the  Episcopal  Church  for  the  mind  of  God 
in  Holy  Scripture."  Any  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to  refer 
to  his  Bible,  will  find  the  meaning  of  that  passage  to  be,  that 
if  a  dispute  happen  among  private  Christians,  they  are  first 
to  call  in  two  or  three  witnesses ;  and  if  it  cannot  thus  be 
settled,  they  are  to  tell  it  to  "  the  Church  "  —  the  Christians 
assembled  within  four  walls ;  for  though  this  is  not  the  exclu- 
sive meaning  of  the  word  Churchy  it  is  one  of  its  meanings, 
and  its  meaning  in  this  passage.  There  is  nothing  about 
doctrine  here,  nothing  about  archbishops,  bishops,  or  presby- 
tery ;  it  is  simply  making  the  appeal  to  a  Christian's  most 
appropriate  tribunal  —  the  congregation  to  which  he  belongs 
—  for  the  final  settlement  of  a  personal  quarrel. 

This  divine  boasts,  that  he  gathered  some  of  his  new 


172  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Tractarian  infection  from  the  Scottish  bishops;  and  Mr, 
Froude,  in  his  first  love,  which  is  not  his  last,  used  to  boast 
that  the  Scotch  Episcopal  Church  is  the  purest  of  all  com- 
munions, and  that  he  would  prefer  having  his  orders  from 
the  Scotch  bishops  to  any  other.  When  speaking  of  Scotch 
nonjuring  bishops,  I  do  not  use  the  word  bishop  exactly  in 
the  sense  conveyed  by  it  in  England,  for  the  Scotch  bishops 
are  very  poor  men,  which  is  not  to  their  discredit,  the  minis- 
ters of  little  meeting-houses,  supported  wholly  upon  the  vol- 
untary system,  —  the  Presbyterial  clergy  being  now  of  the 
Established  Church.  Now,  I  maintain,  that  if  there  is  an 
episcopacy  in  the  universe  altogether  vitiated,  it  is  the 
Scotch ;  it  is  worse  than  the  English  by  far ;  and  my  proofs 
are  so  conclusive,  that  I  am  sure  they  must  convince  every 
one  who  hears  them.  In  the  first  place,  in  the  year  1610, 
Spottiswoode,  Lamb,  and  Hamilton,  three  presbyters  of  the 
Scottish  Church,  ordained  by  presbyters  only,  were  conse- 
crated bishops  of  Glasgow,  Brechin,  and  Galloway.  Now 
let  it  be  observed,  that  it  is  a  Tractarian  notion,  that  if  a 
man  is  not  baptized  by  an  apostolical  succession  minister,  he 
is  not  baptized  at  all,  and  is  incapable  of  holy  orders  ;  and  if 
he  is  not  a  valid  presbyter,  he  is  incapable  of  being  made  a 
valid  bishop ;  but  these  three  men  were  baptized  by  Pres- 
byterian ministers,  ordained  presbyters  by  Presbyterian  min- 
isters, and  on  this  footing  consecrated  bishops  by  the  three 
bishops  who  were  sent  from  England.  On  Tractarian  jmn- 
ciples,  they  were  never  baptized,  for  Presbyterian  baptism 
is  with  them  no  baptism ;  they  were  never  ordained,  for 
Presbyterian  ordination  is  with  them  no  ordination ;  they 
were,  therefore,  incapable  of  being  consecrated,  and  they 
were  at  last  no  bishops  at  all.  All  the  men  that  they  or- 
dained, were  not  ordained  ;  all  that  they  consecrated,  were 
not  consecrated ;  and  the  Episcopal  communion  in  Scotland, 
from  that  moment,  became  a  vitiated  and  corrupted  suc- 
cession. 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION  173 

But  suppose  this  defect  remedied :  the  succession  after- 
wards became  equally  vitiated.  In  1661,  Sharp,  Fairfoul, 
Leighton,  and  Hamilton,  who  had  only  Presbyterian  bap- 
tism, were  ordained  and  consecrated  to  be  bishops  —  one  of 
a  diocese  whose  bishop  was  living,  and  his  consecration  was 
therefore  invalid.  I  have  said,  it  is  a  law  in  Tractarian 
theology,  that  a  person  not  baptized  is  incapable  of  receiving 
holy  orders,  and  that  baptism  administered  in  a  Presbyterian 
Church  is  no  baptism ;  and,  therefore,  these  bishops,  bap- 
tized by  Scottish  presbyters,  though  consecrated;  were 
incapable  of  the  dignity,  and  their  consecration  was,  on 
Tractarian  principles,  null  and  void.  But  the  mischief  did 
not  rest  here ;  they  consecrated  Haliburton,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  to  be  Bishop  of  Dunkeld ;  Mackenzie,  who  had 
taken  "  the  solemn  league  and  covenant "  *  fourteen  times  ( ! ) 
to  be  Bishop  of  Moray ;  Paterson,  Presbyterian  minister  of 
Aberdeen,  to  be  Bishop  of  Ross ;  and  Wallace  to  the  bishop- 
ric of  the  Isles.  All  these  men  were  Presbyterian  ministers, 
and  were  consecrated  bishops  on  the  footing  that  Presby- 
terian baptism  and  Presbyterian  orders  were  valid ;  but  if 
Presbyterian  baptism  be  invalid,  and  if  Presbyterian  orders 
be  invalid  too,  there  is  clearly  no  such  thing  in  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  communion  as  a  valid  succession,  answering  to  the 
lowest  definition  of  the  Tractarians ;  and  the  sooner  they 
get  the  succession  restored,  as  well  as  the  Popish  Communion 
Service  purged,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  maintenance  of 
their  extreme  and  exclusive  views. 

Let  us  now  appeal  to  a  wider  field.  Supposing  the  apos- 
tolical succession  to  have  begun,  let  us  look  at  the  history  of 
it  —  not  in  one  province,  such  as  Scotland,  but  on  the  broad 
surface  of  Europe.  "We  gather  on  this  field  the  following 
facts,  known  to  every  student  of  history.     Cyprian  was  con- 

*  The  solemn  League  and  Covenant  is  a  fierce  document,  now  happily 
obsolete,  and  justly  repudiated  by  every  minister  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, an  evidence  in  its  way  that  Presbyter  is  sometimes  Priest  writ  large. 
15* 


174  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

secrated  a  bishop  instantly  after  he  was  baptized  and  con- 
verted from  heathenism :  one  would  think  he  was  not  very 
well  qualified  for  the  office.  Eucherius,  a  layman,  was  made 
Bishop  of  Lyons.  Photius,  also  a  layman,  was  made  a  pa- 
triarch. John  the  Ninth,  from  a  layman,  was  made  Pope, 
and  was  therefore  a  lay  Pope :  what  sort  of  apostolical  suc- 
cession he  could  transmit,  I  leave  you  to  judge.  Clement 
the  Fifth,  in  1308,  gave  the  archbishopric  of  Mentz  to  his 
physician,  a  layman,  on  account  of  a  cure  which  he  had 
wrought  on  his  holiness.  When  we  ordain  a  presbyter  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  we  try  to  ascertain  if  his  qualifica- 
tions answer  to  those  stated  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his 
Epistle  to  Timothy  ;  and  if  we  find  that  they  do,  we  commit 
to  him  the  functions  we  have  ourselves  received ;  but  this 
Pope  acted  on  far  different  principles,  for  the  reason  he  gave 
for  the  appointment  was,  that  he  who  was  so  clever  in  curing 
bodily  disease,  as  the  physician  in  question  had  shown  him- 
self to  be,  was,  of  all  men,  the  most  fitted  for  the  cure  of 
souls.  Again:  from  the  year  1159  to  the  year  1182,  there 
were  four  persons  claiming  to  be  Pope  at  the  same  time ; 
and  it  is  not  yet  settled  which  was  the  true  Pope,  and  there- 
fore in  which  channel  the  true  succession  flowed.  From 
the  year  1378  to  the  year  1409,  there  were  two  Popes,  one 
at  Avignon,  and  the  other  at  Rome  :  Which  was  the  legiti- 
mate and  true  Pope?  John  the  Twelfth,  who  was  made 
Bishop  of  Rome  at  eighteen  years  of  age,  conferred  holy 
orders  upon  boys  for  money,  and  consecrated  a  youth  of  ten 
years  old  Bishop  of  Todi :  what  sort  of  transmission  of  apos- 
tolical succession  this  lad  could  present,  I  leave  you  to  fancy. 
In  the  time  of  Pope  Sergius,  bishoprics  were  put  up  for  sale 
—  to  auction,  as  we  should  say ;  and  when  it  was  proposed 
by  one  of  the  members  of  a  council,  that  all  bishops  and 
priests  who  had  received  simoniacal  consecration  or  ordina- 
tion should  be  expelled,  and  their  orders  pronounced  null 
and  void,  the  objection,  on  the  ground  of  which  this  propo- 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  175 

sition  was  overruled,  was,  that  if  it  were  carried  into  effect, 
there  would  be  no  bishops  or  priests  left  in  Europe  —  so 
fearful  was  the  extent  to  which  simoniacal  practices  pre- 
vailed. 

Let  us  see  the  moral  condition  of  the  conductors  them- 
selves. You  know  well,  that  if  rain  drops  fall  through  a 
Booty  and  polluted  atmosphere,  they  cannot  be  pure ;  and 
that  if  a  river  be  made  to  flow  through  a  tainted  soil,  it  can- 
not remain  uncorrupt.  Now  I  will  give  you  a  picture  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  through  which^the  apostolical  succession  has 
descended  —  a  picture,  not  from  the  pen  of  a  Protestant,  or  an 
enemy,  but  from  the  pen  of  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Baronius, 
the  most  distinguished  historian  and  devoted  son  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Describing  the  commencement  of  the 
tenth  century,  he  says,  "  Behold  the  nine  hundredth  year  of 
the  Redeemer  begins,  in  which  a  new  age  commences,  which 
by  reason  of  its  asperity  and  barrenness  of  good  has  been 
wont  to  be  called  the  iron  age,  and  by  the  deformity  of  its 
exuberant  evil  the  leaden  age,  and  by  its  poverty  of  writers 
tlie  dark  age.  Standing  upon  the  threshold  of  whicli,  we 
have  found  it  expedient,  before  we  proceed  further,  on  ac- 
count of  the  crimes  which  it  has  been  our  lot  to  behold  before 
the  door,  to  make  some  preface  by  way  of  admonition  to  the 
reader,  lest  the  weak  minded  should  take  offence,  if  he  some- 
times perceives  the  abomination  of  desolation  standing  in  the 
temple.'^ — (The  Ecclesiastical  Annals  of  Baronius  :  Pope 
Stephen  Seventh,  a.d.  900.     Antwerp,  1603.) 

"  What  was  then  the  face  of  the  holy  Roman  Church  ? 
How  exceeding  foul  was  it,  when  most  powerful,  and  sordid, 
and  abandoned  women  ruled  at  Rome,  at  whose  will  the  sees 
were  changed,  bishops  were  presented,  and,  what  is  horrid 
to  hear  and  unutterable,  false  pontiffs,*  their  lovers,  were 
intruded  into  the  chair  of  Peter,  who  were  only  written  in 
the  catalogue  of  Roman  pontiffs  for  the  sake  of  marking  the 

♦  K  this  be  true,  what  becomes  of  the  Pupal  succession  from  Peter  ? 


176  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

times  !  For  who  can  affirm,  that  men  illegally  intruded  hy 
wicked  women  of  this  sort,  were  Roman  pontiffs  ?  There 
was  never  any  mention  of  the  clergy  electing  or  afterwards 
approving.  All  the  canons  were  closed  in  silence,  the  de- 
crees of  the  Pontiffs  were  suppressed,  the  ancient  traditions 
were  proscribed,  and  the  ancient  customs  in  electing  the 
Pope,  and  the  sacred  ceremonies,  and  the  usages  of  former 
days  were  wholly  extinct.  Thus,  lust,  relying  upon  the  secu- 
lar power,  and  mad  and  stimulated  with  the  rage  of  domin- 
ion, claimed  every  thing  for  itself.  Then,  as  it  seems,  Christ 
evidently  was  in  a  deep  sleep  in  the  ship,  when  these  winds 
blowing  so  strongly,  the  ship  itself  was  covered  with  the 
waves."  —  (Baronius,  a.  d.  912.) 

"  For  nearly  150  years,  about  fifty  Popes,  namely,  from 
John  Eighth,  who  succeeded  the  holy  Popes  Nicholas  and 
Adrian  Second,  to  Leo  Ninth  (who,  called  by  God  as  an- 
other Aaron,  first  brought  back  from  heaven  the  ancient 
integrity  of  the  Popes  to  the  apostolic  see),  deserted  wholly 
the  virtue  of  their  predecessors,  being  apostate,  rather  than 
apostolical.  Of  so  many  Popes,  five  only  are  even  slightly 
praised."  —  (Genebrard's  Chronicles,  A.  d.  904.) 

"  After  the  death  of  Sergius,  there  was  a  schism  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  between  Benedict  Eighth,  son  of  Gregory, 
Count  of  Frescati,  and  one  Gregory,  who  was  elected  by 
some  Romans  who  ousted  Benedict.  He  fled  to  Henry, 
King  of  Germany,  who  immediately  raised  forces,  and 
marched  into  Italy  to  reestablish  him.  As  soon  as  the  king 
arrived,  Gregory  fled  for  it,  and  Benedict  was  received  with- 
out any  opposition."  —  (An.  1012.) 

"  Benedict  died  in  1024.  The  Count  of  Frescati,  that  the 
popedom  might  still  be  in  his  family,  caused  his  other  son  to 
be  elected  in  the  room  of  Benedict  the  Eighth,  though  he 
was  not  then  in  orders.  He  was  ordained,  and  called  John 
....  It  is  said,  that  some  time  after,  this  Pope  being  sen- 
sible that  his  election  was  vicious  and  simoniacal,  withdrew 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  177 

into  a  monastery,  therein  to  suffer  penance,  and  that  he  for- 
bore performing  any  part  of  its  functions  till  such  time  as  he 
was  chosen  again  by  his  clergy."  —  (a.  d.  1024.  —  Dupin's 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Eleventh  Century  of  Chris- 
tianity.) 

"  Let  us  see  what  remedy  they  first  had  recourse  to,  in 
order  to  extinguish  this  three-headed  least  who  had  issued 
from  the  gates  of  hell.  A  remedy  was  devised  precisely 
similar  to  that  Avliich  the  poets  feigned  in  destroying  the 
fabulous  Cerberus,  —  namely,  the  filling  of  his  jaws  with  a 
pitchy  mouthful,  by  giving  them  something  to  eat,  so  that 
they  should  altogether  leave  off  barking.  But  let  us  see 
who  it  was  that  prepared  that  remedy,  which  the  unhappi- 
ness  of  the  times  demanded.  Otho  faithfully  relates  it  as 
follows :  A  certain  pious  priest,  named  Gratian,  seeing  this 
most  wretched  state  of  the  Church,  and  his  zealous  piety 
fiUing  him  with  compassion  for  his  mother,  he  approached 
the  above-mentioned  men,  and  prevailed  upon  them  by 
money  to  depart  from  the  holy  see,  the  revenues  of  England 
being  made  over  to  Benedict,  because  he  appeared  to  be  of 
chief  authority.  Upon  this  account,  the  citizens  elected  the 
aforesaid  priest  for  their  Pope,  as  being  the  liberator  of  the 
Church,  and  called  him  Gregory  Sixth." — (Baronius,  An- 
nal.  A.D.  1044.) 

These  are  a  few  of  the  descriptions  presented,  not  by  a 
Protestant,  but  by  a  distinguished  Roman  Catholic  historian, 
of  the  medium  through  which  the  succession  of  consecra- 
tions and  ordinations  was  transmitted. 

To  show,  further,  the  utter  impossibility  of  any  thing  like 
certainty  of  the  apostolical  succession,  let  me  refer  to  more 
modern  facts,  which  you  will  do  well  to  remember  when  you 
hear  a  Tractarian  or  a  Romanist  boast  of  the  apostolical 
succession.  In  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Arthur  Percival's  Cata- 
logue, thirteen  bishops  are  necessarily  left  out,  because  there 
is  no  certain  record,  of  their  consecration,  and  therefore  no 


178 

sure  evidence  that  a  Cliurcli  exists  in  England.  In  the 
case  of  the  celebrated  Pearson,  the  author  of  the  "  Com- 
mentary on  the  Creed,"  there  is  no  record  of  his  consecra- 
tion to  be  found.  Now,  if  a  Tractarian  insists  that  apostoli- 
cal succession  is  essential  to  valid  sacraments,  the  onus  pro- 
handi,  the  burden  of  proof,  rests  with  him ;  if  I  assert  that 
apostolical  succession  is  not  possessed,  and  he  asserts  that  it 
is,  it  rests  not  with  me  to  prove  a  negative,  but  with  him  to 
prove  the  whole  series  of  successive  consecrations  by  canoni- 
cal bishops.  Dr.  Whately,  the  present  Archbishop  of  Dub- 
lin, referring  to  this  difficulty,  says :  "  Even  in  the  memory 
of  persons  living,  there  existed  a  bishop  concerning  whom 
there  was  so  much  mystery  and  uncertainty,  M'hen,  where, 
and  by  whom  ordained,  that  doubts  existed  in  the  minds  of 
many  persons  whether  he  was  ordained  at  all:"  this,  of 
course,  is  at  a  recent  period.  Birch  relates,  that  "  Sydserf, 
a  Scottish  bishop,  ordained  all  of  the  English  clergy  that 
came  to  him,  without  demanding  oaths  of  canonical  obe- 
dience, or  subscription  to  articles,  merely  for  a  subsistence 
by  the  fees  which  he  received  for  the  orders  that  he 
granted."  A  Scotch  bishop  had  no  business  ordaining  in 
England  at  all ;  and  in  this  respect  alone  all  was  void,  and 
every  ordination  for  money  is  held  universally  to  be  vitiated. 
He  ordained  the  celebrated  Tillotson,  who  had  never  beet 
ordained  a  deacon,  and  therefore  was  incapable  of  priest's 
orders,  which  were  ostensibly  conferred  upon  him. 

Bishop  Butler,  the  author  of  that  magnificent  specimen 
of  philosophical  reasoning,  "  The  Analogy,"  was  the  son  of 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  had  only  such  baptism  as  a 
Presbyterian  minister  could  give ;  he  was  never  rebaptized, 
though  he  was  ordained  deacon,  then  priest,  and  ultimately 
made  a  bishop :  on  Tractarian  principles,  he  had  no  baptism 
at  all,  was  therefore  incapable  of  holy  orders,  and  of  conse- 
cration. Archbishop  Tillotson  was  the  son  of  a  Baptist 
minister ;  and  it  is  denionstrable,  from  the  custom  of  the 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  179 

Baptist  body,  that  their  childi-eii  are  not  baptized.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  Tillotson  ever  was  baptized  when  he 
grew  up,  and  the  overwhehning  presumption  is,  that  he  was 
not  baptized  at  all :  he  was  thereby  incapable  of  holy  orders, 
and  in  Archbishop  Tillotson  the  apostolical  succession  was 
thus  entirely  vitiated.  Archbishop  Seeker,  who  succeeded 
him,  was  the  son  of  a  Dissenting  minister,  by  whom  he  was 
baptized ;  he  was  never  rebaptized,*  but  on  the  footing  of 
that  baptism  was  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  And 
thus  three  of  the  most  illustrious  prelates  that  ever  wore 
the  mitre  in  England,  were,  upon  Tractarian  principles,  un- 
baptized  schismatics,  incapable  of  receiving  holy  orders,  and 
as  incapable  of  transmitting  them ;  and  every  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England  ordained  by  these  men  was  and  is, 
upon  Tractarian  principles,  no  minister  at  all. 

Mark  a  few  more  of  the  results  that  follow  from  Tracta- 
rian theology.  You  are  aware  that  there  is  in  the  Anglican 
Prayerbook  a  service  (which  I  do  not  condemn)  for  Charles 
the  First ;  and  the  Tractarian  party  make  a  great  deal  of 
the  unhappy  monarch  as  one  of  their  most  distinguished 
martyrs;  but  this  audience  will  be  surprised  when  I  tell 
them,  that  Charles  the  First  was  baptized  by  a  Presbyte- 
rian minister  at  Dunfermline,  and  on  Tractarian  principles, 
was  not  even  a  Christian,  much  less  a  Christian  martyr. 
On  the  same  principles,  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  some 
years  ago  visited  this  country,  and  became  sponsor  for  the 
then  infant  Prince  of  Wales,  was  no  Christian  at  all;  for 
he  was  a  member  of  a  Presbyterian  church,  and  had  only 
Presbyterian  baptism.  Prince  Albert,  the  illustrious  con- 
sort of  our  beloved  Queen,  was  baptized  by  a  Lutheran,  or 
what  is  the  same,  Presbyterian  minister ;  and,  on  Tracta- 

*  It  has  been  intimated  to  me,  since  the  appearance  of  the  first  edition 
of  these  Lectures,  that  there  is  a  record  of  his  being  rebaptized.  I  have 
not  seen  it. 


180  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

rian  principles,  is  not  a  Christian;  and  ]VIr.  Escott,  the 
notorious  vicar  of  Gedney,  would  refuse  him  Christian 
burial.  They  say,  however,  they  are  not  responsible  for 
consequences. 

The  Tractarian  party,  in  imitation  of  the  Romish  priests 
who  refuse  to  recognize  their  orders,  refuse  to  call  the 
ministers  of  the  Scottish  Church,  or  those  of  the  Inde- 
pendent and  other  dissenting  bodies,  by  the  title  of  Eeverend, 
which  the  law  of  the  land  gives  the  former,  and  which 
common  courtesy  gives  to  all,  but  which  really  as  a  mere 
epithet  is  worth  nothing :  and  the  reason  they  allege  is,  that 
none  but  they  have  the  apostolical  succession.  I  have 
shown  that  they  have  it  not ;  and  if  they  claim  to  be  called 
by  that  title  because  they  have  the  apostolical  succession  — 
as  they  do  —  though  I  should  be  extremely  sorry  to  be  un- 
courteous,  or  to  violate  the  laws  of  ordinary  decorum,  yet 
as  they  have  failed  to  prove  that  they  have  the  succession, 
and  as  I  have  demonstrated  that  they  have  it  not,  I  must 
merge  my  courtesy  in  my  Christian  consistency,  and  address 
my  letters,  if  I  have  occasion,  to  "  Walter  Farquhar  Hook, 
Esquire^^  or  "  William  Palmer,  Esquired 

Before,  however,  I  leave  this  subject,  I  wish  to  show  that 
the  views  of  the  Tractarians  of  Oxford  have  not  been  the 
views  of  the  ancient  fathers,  to  whom  they  themselves 
appeal,  or  of  those  who  may  be  called  the  fathers  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  and  the  most  distinguished  of  its  divines. 

First  of  all,  let  us  see  whether  the  early  fathers  attach 
importance  to  the  personal  succession,  or  to  the  doctrinal 
succession. 

Tektullian  :  "  Do  we  prove  the  faith  by  persons,  or 
persons  by  the  faith  ?  "  (The  Tractarian  view  is,  that  faith 
is  proved  by  the  persons.)  "  Now,  if  the  heretics  should 
make  out  personal  succession,  they  will  have  done  nothing ; 
for  their  doctrine,  compared  with  the  apostolical  doctrines. 


THE    APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  181 

wiU  show,  from  ite  difference  and  its  contrariety,  that  it 
has  neither  an  apostle  nor  a  disciple  of  an  apostle  for  its 
author."  * 

Iren^us,  adv.  Hceres.  book  iv.  c.  48.  —  "Those  pres- 
byters who  serve  their  own  pleasures,  and  do  not  make  the 
fear  of  God  their  rule,  but  persecute  others  with  reproaches, 
from  all  such  presbyters  it  behoves  us  to  stand  aloof,  and 
cleave  to  those  presbyters  who  both  retain  the  doctrine  of 
the  Gospel,  and  exhibit  soundness  in  word,  and  a  blameless 
conversation."  f 

Ambrose,  on  Luke,  book  vi.  §  8.  — "  Christ  is  the  only 
one,  whom  no  one  ought  to  forsake.  If  there  is  any  Church 
which  rejects  the  faith,  and  does  not  possess  the  fundamen- 
tals of  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles,  it  is  to  be  deserted." 

Again,  Augustine  against  the  Donatists,  vol.  ix.  c.  19. 
col.  372.  —  "We  ought  to  find  the  Church  where  we  find 
the  Head  of  the  Church  —  namely,  in  the  canonical  Scrip- 
tures ;  not  to  inquire  for  it  in  the  various  reports  and  deeds 
and  opinions  of  men.  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  proofs, 
these  the  foundation,  these  the  support  of  the  Church." 

Chrysostom,  49th  Homily  on  Matthew.  —  "When  ye 
shall  see  the  impious  heresy,  which  is  the  army  of  antichrist, 
standing  in  the  holy  places  of  tlie  Church,  then  let  them 
which  are  in  Judea  flee  to  the  mountain ;  that  is,  let  Chris- 
tians take  themselves  to  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

But  what  say  the  fathers,  on  the  other  hand,  of  succession 
of  doctrine  ?  With  the  following  lathers  this  is  every  thing, 
and  the  other  nothing :  — 

*  Sed  etsi  confiuxerint  nil  promovebunt.  Ipsa  enim  doctrina  eorum 
cum  apostolica  comparata  ex  diversitate  et  contrarietate  pronuntiabit 
neqiie  apostoli  alicujus  auctoris  esse  neque  apostolici.  Tertull.  de  Prae- 
scrjpt.  Haeret.  p.  22.   Lipsiae,  1841. 

t  Ab  illis  ecclesiis  quas,  licet  nullam  ex  apostolis  vel  apostolicis  aucto- 
rem  suum  proferant,  ut  multo  posteriores  tamen  in  eadem  fide  conspi- 
rantes,  non  minus  apostolicae  deputantur  pro  consanguinitate  doctrinflB. 
Tertull.  de  Praescript.  Haeret.  p.  22,  R.  3.    Lipsiae,  1841. 
16 


182  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Chrysostom:  says,  —  "Where  pure  faith  is,  there  the 
Church  is ;  but  where  pure  faith  is  not,  there  the  Church  is 
not."  Again,  he  says,  —  "  He  does  not  go  out  of  the  Church 
wlio  goes  out  of  it  bodily,  but  he  who  spiritually  deserts  the 
foundations  of  ecclesiastical  truth.  We  have  gone  out  from 
the  heretics  in  body,  but  they  have  gone  out  from  us  in 
mind ;  we  have  gone  out  from  them  in  respect  of  place,  but 
they  have  gone  out  from  us  in  respect  to  faith ;  we  have  left 
with  them  the  foundations  of  the  walls,  but  they  have  left 
with  us  the  foundations  of  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

Ambrose,  on  Luke,  book  vi.  §  98.  —  "The  rock  is  faith; 
the  foundation  of  the  Church  is  faith :  if  thou  hast  found 
faith,  thou  shalt  he  in  the  Church^ 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  Oration  Twenty-first,  (Paris,  1778, 
p.  390):  "He  is  elevated  to  the  chair  of  St.  Mark,  not 
more  in  the  succession  of  his  piety,  than  of  his  seat ;  in 
point  of  time  very  distant  from  him,  but  in  true  relig- 
ion, WHICH  IS  PROPERLY  CALLED  APOSTOLIC  SUCCES- 
SION, directly  after  him.  For  he  that  holdeth  the  same 
doctrine  is  of  the  same  chair ;  but  he  who  is  an  enemy  to 
the  doctrine,  is  an  enemy  to  the  chair." 

Let  us  now  turn  to  some  of  the  most  illustrious  of  Eng- 
lish Churchmen ;  and  we  shall  see,  that  if  they  represent 
the  Church  of  England,  Drs.  Hook,  Pusey,  and  others,  mis- 
represent it. 

Hooker  says,  "The  whole  Church  visible  being  the  true 
original  subject  of  all  power,  it  hath  not  ordinarily  allowed 
any  other  than  bishops  alone  to  ordain:  howbeit,  as  the 
ordinary  course  in  all  things  is  ordinarily  to  be  observed,  so 
it  may  be  in  some  cases  not  unnecessary  that  we  decline 
from  the  ordinary  ways."  —  Book  vii.  vol.  iii.  p.  285.  Ox- 
ford, 1836. 

Again :  "  To  change  those  things  that  are  not  essential  to 
salvation,  as  forms  of  Church  government,  is  no  otherwise 
to  change  the  plan  of  salvation  than  a  path  is  changed  by 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  183 

altering  only  the  uppermost  face  of  it,  which,  be  it  laid  with 
gravel  or  with  grass,  or  paved  with  stones,  remaineth  still 
the  same  path.  Doctrine  is  like  garments,  that  cover  the 
body  of  the  Church  —  the  other  like  rings,  bracelets,  and 
jewels,  which  only  adorn  it.  The  one  is  like  the  food, 
which  the  Church  doth  live  by ;  the  other  like  that  which 
maketh  her  diet  liberal,  dainty,  and  more  delicious." 

Again :  "  He  which  aflirmeth  speech  to  be  necessary 
amongst  all  men  througiiout  the  world,  doth  not  thereby 
import  that  all  men  must  necessarily  speak  one  and  the 
same  language ;  even  so  the  necessity  of  polity  and  regimen 
may  be  held,  without  holding  any  one  certain  form  to  be 
necessary  in  them  all." 

"  Let  the  bishops  continually  bear  in  mind,  that  it  is  rather 
the  force  of  custom  —  whereby  the  Church,  having  so  long 
found  it  good  to  continue  under  the  regimen  of  her  virtuous 
bishops,  doth  still  uphold,  maintain,  and  honor  them  in  that 
respect  —  than  that  any  such  true  and  heavenly  law  can  be 
showed,  by  the  evidence  whereof  it  may  of  a  truth  appear, 
that  the  Lord  himself  hath  appointed  presbyters  for  ever  to 
be  under  the  regimen  of  bishops.  Their  authority  is  a 
oword,  which  the  Church  hath  power  to  take  from  them."  — 
(Eccl.  Pol.  vi.  8.) 

On  Hooker's  views,  Warburton,  a  no  less  learned  divine, 
remarks,  "  The  great  Hooker  was  not  only  against,  but  laid 
down  principles  that  have  entirely  subverted  all  pretences 
to  a  divine,  unalterable  right  in  any  form  of  Church  govern- 
ment whatever." 

Bishop  Cosins,  who,  upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  took 
the  Lord's  supper  repeatedly  in  Presbyterial  Churches,  says, 
"  Are  all  the  Churches  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  Poland,  Ger- 
many, France,  Scotland,  in  all  points,  either  of  substance  or 
circumstance,  disciplinated  alike?  Nay,  they  neither  are 
nor  can  be ;  nor  yet  need  be,  since  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
any  set  and  exact  particular  form  is  recommended  to  us  by 
the  word  of  God."  —  (Ans.  to  Abstract,  sect.  18.  p.  58.) 


184  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Lord  Bacon  writes :  "  For  the  second  point,  that  there 
should  be  but  one  form  of  discipline  in  all  churches,  and 
that  imposed  by  necessity  of  a  commandment  and  pre- 
script out  of  the  word  of  God,  I,  for  my  part,  do  confess, 
that  on  revolving  the  Scriptures,  I  could  never  find  any 
such  thing ;  but  that  God  hath  left  the  like  liberty  to  the 
Church  government  that  he  hath  done  to  the  Civil  govern- 
ment, to  be  varied  according  to  time  and  place  and  accidents, 
which,  nevertheless,  his  high  and  Divine  Providence  doth 
order  and  dispose.  So,'  likewise,  in  church  matters,  the  sub- 
stance of  doctrine  is  immutable,  and  so  are  the  general  rules 
of  government ;  but  for  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  for  the 
particular  hierarchies,  policies,  and  disciplines  of  churches, 
they  be  left  at  large ;  and  therefore  it  is  good  we  return  to 
the  ancient  bounds  of  unity  in  the  church  of  God,  which 
was  one  faith,  one  baptism,  and  not  one  hierarchy,  one  dis- 
cipline." —  (Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  150.     Lond.  1778.) 

Dr.  Fulke,  regarded  in  his  day  as  a  very  high  Church- 
man, writes :  "  Although  in  Scripture  a  bishop  and  presby- 
ter is  one  authority  in  preaching  and  in  the  sacraments,  yet 
in  government,  hy  ancient  use  of  speech,  he  is  only  bishop 
who  in  Scripture  is  called  Proistamenos,  to  whom  the  ordi- 
nation or  consecration  by  imposition  of  hands  belonged ;  for 
the  rest  of  the  presbyters  did  lay  on  their  hands,  or  else  the 
hishop  did  lay  on  his  hands  in  the  name  of  the  rest."  — 
(Ans.  to  Rh.  Test,  on  Titus  i.  8,  foh  391,  p.  2.  Lond. 
1589.) 

Field  says,  "  Who,  then,  dare  condemn  all  those  worthy 
ministers  of  God,  who  were  ordained  by  presbyters  in  sun- 
dry churches,  at  such  times  as  bishops,  in  those  parts  where 
they  lived,  opposed  themselves  against  the  truth  of  God  ?  " 
—  (Book  iii.  c.  37,  p.  157.     Oxf.  1G35.) 

Francis  Mason,  an  enthusiastic  defender  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  says,  "  If  you  mean  by  Divine  right,  that  which  is 
according  to  Scripture,  then  the  preeminence  of  bishops  is 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  185 

jure  divino.  Secondly,  if  by  Divine  right  you  mean  the 
ordinance  of  God,  in  this  sense  also  it  is  jure  divino.  But 
if  hj  jure  divino,  you  understand  a  law  or  commandment  of 
God  binding  all  Christian  Churches  perpetually,  unchange- 
ably, and  with  such  absolute  necessity  that  no  other  order 
of  regimen  may  in  any  case  be  admitted,  in  this  sense  nei- 
ther may  we  grant  it,  nor  yet  can  you  prove  it  to  be  jure 
divino."  —  (Del  of  Foreign  Ord.  p.  163.     Oxf.  1641.) 

Mason  says  also,  p.  160  :  "  Seeing  a  presbyter  is  equal  to 
a  bishop  in  the  power  of  order,  he  hath  equally  intrinsical 
poiver  to  give  orders." —  (Ibid.  p.  161.) 

Downham,  Bishop  of  Derry,  writes,  "  Though,  in  respect 
of  the  institution,  there  is  small  difference  between  an  apos- 
tolical and  divine  ordinance,  yet  in  respect  of  perpetuity, 
difference  by  some  is  made  between  those  things  which  be 
of  divini  and  those  which  be  of  ajwstolici  juris  ;  the  former 
in  their  understanding  being  perpetually,  generally,  and  im- 
mutably necessary ;  the  latter  not  so.  So  that  the  meaning 
of  my  defence  plainly  is,  that  the  episcopal  government  hath 
this  commendation  above  other  forms  of  ecclesiastical  gov- 
ernment, that  in  respect  of  the  first  institution  it  is  a  Divine 
ordinance.  But  that  it  should  be  such  a  Divine  ordinance 
as  should  be  generally,  perpetually,  immutably,  necessarily 
observed,  so  as  no  other  form  of  government  may  in  no  case 
be  admitted,  I  did  not  take  upon  me  to  maintain."  —  (Def. 
of  Ser.  p.  139.) 

Bishop  Sanderson  says,  "The  Papist  groundeth  the 
Pope's  oecumenical  supremacy  upon  Christ's  command  to 
Peter  to  execute  it,  and  to  all  the  flock  of  Christ  to  submit 
to  him  as  their  universal  pastor.  The  Presbyterian  crieth 
up  his  model  of  government  and  discipline  as  the  very 
sceptre  of  Christ's  kingdom,  whereunto  all  kings  are  bound 
to  submit  theirs,  making  it  as  unalterably  and  universally 
necessary  to  the  being  of  a  Church,  as  the  word  and  sacra- 
ments are.  The  Independent  Separatist  says,  that  nothing 
16* 


186  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

is  to  be  ordered  in  Church  matters  otherwise  than  Christ 
hath  appointed  in  his  word ;  holdeth  that  any  company  of 
people  gathered  together  by  mutual  consent  in  a  Church 
way,  is,  jure  divino,  free  and  absolute  within  itself  to  govern 
itself  by  such  rules  as  it  shall  judge  agreeable  to  God's 
word,  without  dependence  upon  any  but  Christ  alone,  or 
subjection  to  any  prince,  prelate,  or  person,  or  consistory 
wliatsoever.  All  these  do  not  only  claim  iijus  divinum,  and 
that  of  a  very  high  nature,  but  in  setting  down  their  opin- 
ions seem  in  some  expressly  tending  to  the  diminution  of 
the  ecclesiastical  supremacy  of  princes.  Whereas  the  epis- 
copal party  neither  meddle  with  the  power  of  princes,  nor 
are  ordinarily  very  forward  to  press  the  jus  divinum ;  but 
rather  purposely  decline  the  mentioning  of  it,  as  a  term 
subject  to  misconstruction,  or  else  to  interpret  it  as  not  of 
necessity  to  import  any  more  than  an  apostolical  institu- 
tion."—P.  40. 

Whitgift  says,  "  We  see  manifestly  that  in  sundry  points 
the  government  of  the  Church  used  in  the  apostles'  time  is, 
and  has  been  of  necessity  altered ;  whereby  it  is  plain  that 
any  one  certain  form  or  kind  of  external  government,  per- 
petually to  be  observed,  is  nowhere  in  the  Scriptures  pre- 
scribed in  the  churches,  but  the  charge  thereof  is  left  to  the 
Christian  magistrate,  so  that  nothing  be  done  contrary  to  the 
word  of  God  ;  neither  do  I  know  any  learned  man  of  a  con- 
trary judgment." 

Again :  "  I  deny  that  the  Scripture  doth  set  dow^i  any 
one  certain  form  and  kind  of  government  in  the  Church." 
—  (Def.  p.  659.) 

Stillingtleet  says,  "  Though  one  form  of  government  t)e 
agreeable  to  the  word  of  God^  it  doth  not  follow  that  another 
is  not ;  or,  because  one  is  lawful,  another  is  unlawful.  But 
one  form  may  be  more  agreeable  to  some  places  and  times 
than  others  are.  I  doubt  not  but  to  make  it  evident,  that 
before  these  late  unhappy  times,  the  main  ground  for  settling 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  187 

episcopal  government  in  this  nation  was  not  any  pretence  of 
Divine  right,  hut  the  conveniency  of  that  form  to  the  state  and 
condition  of  this  Church  at  the  times  of  its  reformaJtion^  — 
(Irenicum,  p.  10.) 

Bishop  Hall,  who  is  found  in  Dr.  Pusey's  Catena,  says, — 
"  Blessed  be  God,  there  is  no  difference  in  any  essential 
matter  betwixt  the  Church  of  England  and  her  sisters  of  the 
Reformation.  We  accord  in  every  point  of  Christian  doc- 
trine, without  the  least  variation.  Their  public  confessions 
and  ours,  are  sufficient  convictions  to  the  world  of  our  full 
and  absolute  agreement.  The  only  difference  is  in  the  form 
of  outward  administration,  wherein  also  we  are  so  far  agreed 
as  that  we  all  profess  this  form  not  to  be  essential  to  the  be- 
ing of  a  Church,  though  much  importing  the  well  or  better 
being  of  it  according  to  our  several  apprehensions  thereof; 
and  that  we  do  all  retain  a  reverent  and  loving  opinion  of 
each  other  in  our  several  ways,  not  seeing  any  reason  why 
so  poor  a  diversity  should  work  any  alienation  or  affection 
in  us  one  towards  another.  But,  withal,  nothing  hinders  but 
that  we  may  come  yet  closer  to  one  another,  if  both  may 
resolve  to  meet  in  that  primitive  government  whereby  it  is 
meet  we  should  both  be  regulated,  universally  agreed  on  by 
all  antiquity,  wherein  all  things  were  ordered  and  transacted 
by  the  consent  of  the  Presbytery,  moderated  by  one  constant 
president  thereof.  But  if  there  must  be  a  difference  of  judg- 
ment on  these  matters  of  outward  policy,  why  should  not 
our  hearts  be  one  ?  Why  should  such  a  diversity  be  of 
power  to  endanger  the  dissolving  of  the  bond  of  brotherhood  ? 
May  we  have  the  grace  but  to  follow  the  truth  in  love ;  we 
shall  in  these  several  tracks  overtake  her  happily  in  the  end, 
and  iind  her  embracing  of  peace,  and  crowning  us  with  bless- 
edness." —  (Peacemaker,  sect.  6,  vol.  vii.  p.  59.  Oxon. 
1837.) 

Archbishop  Bramhall  writes  of  the  Presbyterial  Churches, 
—  "  Because  I  esteem  them  churches  not  completely  formed, 


188  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

do  I  therefore  exclude  them  from  all  hope  of  salvation  ?  or 
esteem  them  aliens  and  strangers,  or  account  them  formal 
schismatics?  No  such  thing.  It  is  not  at  all  material, 
whether  episcopacy  and  priesthood  be  two  distinct  orders,  or 
distinct  degrees  of  the  same  order."  —  (Bramhall's  Works, 
fol.  164.  Dublin,  1677.) 

Archbishop  Usher  writes,  — "  For  the  testifying  of  my 
communion  with  these  churches,  which  I  do  love  and  honor 
as  true  members  of  the  church  universal,  I  do  profess  that 
with  like  affection  I  would  receive  the  blessed  sacrament  at 
the  hands  of  the  Dutch  (i.  e.  presbyterial)  ministers  in  Hol- 
land, as  I  would  do  at  the  hands  of  the  French  ministers." 

Archbishop  Wake  writes,  —  "I  bless  God  that  I  was  born 
and  have  been  bred  in  our  Episcopal  Church,  which  I  am 
convinced  has  been  the  government  established  in  the 
Church  from  the  very  time  of  the  apostles  ;  but  1  should  he 
unwilling  to  o/fftrm,  that  where  the  ministry  is  not  episcopal, 
there  is  no  church,  nor  any  true  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments ;  and  very  many  there  are  among  us,  who  are  zeal- 
ous for  episcopacy,  yet  dare  not  go  so  far  as  to  annul  the 
ordinances  of  God  performed  by  any  other  ministry." 

Bishop  Tomline  says,  —  "I  readily  admit  that  there  is  no 
precept  in  the  New  Testament  which  commands  that  every 
church  should  be  governed  by  bishops.  The  Scriptures  do 
not  prescribe  any  definite  form  of  church  government." 

I  need  not  multiply  extracts  from  Cranmer,  Ridley,  and 
the  early  Reformers.  They  were  Episcopalians  by  prefer- 
ence, but  held  communion  with  all  the  regularly  ordained 
presbyters  of  foreign  churches. 

Cranmer  said,  "  Bishops  and  priests  were  not  two  things, 
but  both  one  office,  in  the  beginning  of  Christ's  religion." 
"  And  of  these  two  orders  only —  viz.  priests  and  deacons  — 
Scripture  maketh  express  mention."  "  For  the-  said  fathers, 
considering  the  great  and  infinite  multitude  of  Christian 
men  so  largely  increased  through  the  world,  and  taking  ex- 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  189 

amples  of  the  Old  Testament,  thought  it  expedient  to  make 
an  order  of  degrees  to  be  among  the  spiritual  governors  of 
the  church,  and  so  ordained  some  to  be  patriarchs,  some  to 
be  primates,  some  to  be  metropolitans,  some  to  be  arch- 
bishops, and  some  to  be  bishops." 

One  extract  from  Bishop  Jewel :  "  Is  it  so  horrible  a 
heresy,  to  say  that  by  the  Scriptures  of  God  a  bishop  and 
a  priest  are  all  one  ?  Verily,  Chrysostom  saith,  *  Inter  epis- 
copum  et  presbyterum  interest  ferme  nihil.'  Augustine 
saith,  *Quid  est  episcopus,  nisi  primus  presbyter?'"  — 
(Jewel's  AYorks :  Defence,  202.) 

Dean  Sherlock  says,  "  A  church  may  be  a  truly  catholic 
church,  and  such  as  we  may  and  ought  to  communicate  with, 
without  bishops." —  (Gibson's  Preservative,  Lond.  1848.) 

Dr.  Claget  says,  "  Some  things  are  necessary  to  the  being 
of  a  church  ;  and  they  are  the  acknowledgment  of  the  one 
Lord,  the  profession  of  the  one  faith,  and  admission  into  the 
state  of  Christian  duties  and  privileges  by  one  baptism. 
And  this  is  all  that  I  can  find  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
being  of  a  church." 

"  The  Church  of  England  does  not  unchurch  those  parts 
of  Christendom  that  hold  the  unity  of  the  faith.  Hence  the 
folly  of  that  conceit,  that  in  this  divided  state  of  Christen- 
dom there  must  be  one  church,  which  is  the  only  church  of 
Christ,  exclusive  of  all  the  rest  that  are  not  in  communion 
with  her."  —  (Gibson's  Preservative,  vol.  iii.  pp.  332-334. 
Lond.  1848.) 

Many  other  quotations  might  be  made,  all  leading  to  the 
same  conclusion,  that  episcopal  ordination  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  essential  to  a  true  church.  And  I  am  sure,  when 
we  appeal  to  the  only  standard  of  error  and  of  truth,  if 
there  be  one  danger  against  which  Christians  are  warned  in 
every  page,  it  is  that  of  trusting  to  those  who  claim  to  have 
apostolical  succession.  "With  a  few  of  the  passages  to  which 
I  allude,  I  will  conclude  my  remarks  upon  this  topic. 


190  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Isaiali  viii.  20 :  "  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony ;  if 
they  speak  not  according  to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is 
no  hght  in  them."  When  this  appeal  was  made,  there  were 
prophets  commissioned  from  above,  and  chief  priests  who 
had  a  real  and  demonstrable  succession  ;  and  yet  the  people 
were  commanded  not  to  believe  them  absolutely,  but  to  bring 
their  doctrine  to  God's  word.  Again:  Matthew  xvi.  6,  12: 
"  Then  Jesus  said  unto  them.  Take  heed,  and  beware  of  the 
leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducees.  Then  under- 
stood they  how  that  he  bade  them,  not  beware  of  the  leaven 
of  bread,  but  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sad- 
ducees." And  yet  the  Pharisees  "  sat  in  Moses'  seat,"  and 
had  the  true  ecclesiastical  succession  of  their  age.  Galatians 
i.  8 :  "But  though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have  preached 
unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed."  If  we  are  to  try  an 
apostle's  doctrine  by  the  Sacred  Volume,  much  more  the 
doctrine  of  a  professed  successor  of  the  apostles.  If  an 
angel  were  to  come  from  the  realms  of  glory,  and,  with  the 
radiance  and  splendor  of  heaven,  were  to  preach  to  us  doc- 
trines opposed  to  God's  word,  and  plainly  contrary  to  its  ex- 
press and  reiterated  statements,  it  would  be  the  duty  of  every 
Christian  to  say,  "  Let  a  brand  be  fixed  upon  that  angel's 
brow,  and  let  his  wing  be  blasted ;  he  is  not  a  messenger 
from  God,  but  a  messenger  from  Satan  only,  and  to  be 
cursed."  Again :  1  Thessalonians  v.  21 :  "  Prove  all 
things ;  hold  fast  that  which  is  good."  1  John  iv.  1 : 
"  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits,"  (that 
is,  the  ministers,)  "  whether  they  are  of  God  ; "  —  and  on 
what  ground  ?  — "  Because  many  false  prophets  are  gone 
out  into  the  world."  Aaron  was  the  high-priest,  and  pos- 
sessed a  valid  and  legitimate  succession ;  but  Aaron  made  a 
golden  calf:  Were  the  people  justified  in  worshipping  it? 
Urijah  was  a  high-priest,  of  legitimate  succession  from 
Aaron,  but  Urijah  introduced  idolatry  into  the  temple :  the 


THE   APOSTOLIC    SUCCESSION.  191 

people,  in  that  day,  were  under  the  solemn  duty  of  becoming 
dissenters  from  it  —  not  conformists  to  it.  Caiaphas,  the 
chief  priest  by  a  legitimate  succession,  gave  sentence  against 
Christ,  denouncing  him  as  a  blasphemer;  and  if  1  had 
listened  to  the  teaching  of  the  church  in  the  days  of  our 
Lord,  I  should  have  joined  in  the  cry,  "  Away  with  him, 
away  with  him !  Crucify  him,  crucify  him ! "  but  if  I  had 
listened  to  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  the  oracles 
he  had  given,  I  should  have  said,  "  Hosanna  !  blessed  be  he 
that  Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ! "  And  lastly,  we 
read  that  the  sheep  of  Christ  are  not  to  follow  "  ravening 
wolves,"  some  of  whom,  the  apostle  said,  were  to  rise  up 
among  their  own  selves;  but  they  were  to  watch,  and  to 
adhere  to  the  doctrine  they  had  learned  of  God. 

Let  me  add  a  simple  illustration  of  the  worth  and  value 
of  apostolical  succession,  founded  upon  that  beautiful  an- 
nouncement in  the  Gospel  of  John :  "  As  Moses  lifted  up 
the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  man 
be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  beheveth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  The  Israelites,  you  re- 
member, were  dying  in  the  wilderness  by  the  sting  of  fiery 
serpents ;  and  Moses  raised  a  brazen  serpent  upon  the  top 
of  a  pole,  and  bade  the  dying  look ;  and  the  instant  that  they 
looked,  they  were  cured.  We  are  told  that  this  is  an  exact 
type  of  the  blessed  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and,  if  I  addi-ess 
Roman  Catholics,  or  Tractarian  Romanists,  I  implore  them 
to  look  through  the  misty  and  glittering  medium  they  live 
in,  at  its  glorious  announcements ;  and  while  they  look,  I 
pray  that  they  may  live.  Suppose  now,  when  Moses  went 
round  to  the  Israelites,  as  they  were  dying  by  thousands, 
and  said  to  them,  "  Behold  the  brazen  serpent  on  the  pole, 
and  live,"  that  some  dying  Jew  had  lifted  up  his  eye,  and 
said,  "  Moses,  before  I  look  to  the  serpent,  tell  me,  on  what 
is  it  elevated  ?  "  Moses  would  surely  have  replied,  (if  we 
can  suppose  such  a  conversation  to  have  occurred,)  "  That 


192  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

is  no  concern  of  yours :  this  must  be  the  simple  question 
with  you,  Is  the  serpent  visible  ?  And  if  it  be,  you  are  to 
look."  But  suppose  the  dying  Israelite  to  reply,  "  If  you 
will  tell  me  the  composition  of  the  pole  —  whether  it  be 
brass,  or  iron,  or  oak  —  I  will  look  ;  but  if  you  will  not  tell 
me,  or  if  you  say  it  is  only  wood,  I  will  not  look,  but  I  will 
lie  down  and  rather  die."  Or  suppose  him  to  say,  "  If  it  is 
wood,  at  all  events  I  will  not  look  until  I  know  the  botanical 
succession  of  that  pole;  that  it  was  cut  from  a  tree  that 
sprung  up  a  hundred  years  ago,  which  again  grew  from 
another  which  grew  before  the  Flood,  which  again  sprang 
from  another  which  grew  before  Adam  fell :  I  must  have  its 
succession  demonstrated,  from  the  creation  to  the  day  when 
it  was  cut  by  the  carpenter,  before  I  will  look  and  be  cured." 
Infatuation  as  it  seems,  it  is  just  the  essence  of  the  Tracta- 
rian  gospel.  I  maintain,  that  the  best  pole  must  have  been 
that  which  lifted  highest  the  brazen  serpent  before  the  peo- 
ple ;  and  the  best  church,  have  it  or  have  it  not  the  apostoli- 
cal succession,  is  that  which  holds  Christ  aloft  and  alone 
prominent,  and  clothed  in  his  own  majestic  glory,  that  the 
dying  may  look,  and  the  living  rejoice. 


[193] 


LECTURE    VII. 

THE    UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Eph.  iv.  5. 

The  Romish  Church  arrogates  a  monopoly  of  unity.  I 
deny  that  the  Church  of  Rome  has  unity.  Even  on  so  vital 
a  doctrine  as  infallibility,  her  divines  differ.  One  party  in 
that  church,  the  Trans- Alpines,  say  that  the  Pope  is  person- 
ally infallible  when  speaking  ex  cathedra ;  the  other  party, 
the  Cis- Alpines,  say,  that  a  decree  is  infallible  only  when  it 
issues  from  a  General  Council,  v/ith  the  Pope  at  its  head ; 
and  no  Council  has  yet  declared  the  Roman  Church  infalli- 
ble, and  thus  there  is  a  want  of  unity  upon  one  of  the  cardi- 
nal doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  If,  again,  I 
refer  to  the  fifth  Council  of  Lateran,  which  consisted  of  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  bishops,  with  the  Pope  at  their  head, 
I  find  that  one  party  in  the  Church  of  Rome  asserts  that  it 
was  a  General  Council,  and  therefore  that  all  its  decrees  are 
to  be  received :  and  another  party  maintains  that  it  was  not 
a  General  Council,  and  that  its  decrees  have  no  authority. 
Respecting  penance,  the  Church  of  Rome  is  divided :  a  large 
party,  including  Delahogue,  P.  Lombard  Bona,  and  Gabriel, 
assert  that  absolution  by  a  priest  is  simply  declarative ;  but 
the  Council  of  Trent,  backed  by  Estius  and  Vasquez,  main- 
tain that  absolution  is  judicial,  and  equivalent  to  God's. 
Again :  the  Church  of  Rome  is  not  agreed  whether  love  to 
God  is  necessary  to  salvation :  a  large  section  of  its  theolo- 
gians, approved  by  Benedict  the  Fourteenth,  in  his  Treatise 
Syn.  Dioec  lib.  7,  c.  13,  hold  that  all  which  is  required  for 
17 


194  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

absolution  by  the  priest,  and  for  salvation,  is  to  have  that 
fear  of  God  which  has  only  the  fear  of  hell ;  and  but  a  small 
portion  of  theologians  of  the  Church  of  Rome  hold,  that  the 
love  of  God  is  an  essential  element  in  this  fear.  Awful 
apostasy!  to  hold  that  souls  may  be  borne  to  glory,  and 
realize  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  without  "  loving  God  with  all 
their  heart,  and  mind,  and  strength ! "  But  the  Church  of 
Rome  has  not  even  unity  in  point  of  discipline ;  for  she  has 
Dominicans,  Franciscans,  Carmelites,  Jesuits,  blue  friars, 
grey  friars,  black  friars,  begging  and  mendicant  monks  of 
every  description.  And  I  am  sure,  if. the  Apostle  Peter 
could  behold  them,  assembled  in  a  motley  crowd,  all  pro- 
fessing to  be  successors  of  the  apostles,  and  to  belong  to 
the  one  Catholic  Church,  surpnsed  at  the  spectacle,  he 
would  exclaim  —  "  Paul  I  know,  and  John  I  know,  but  who 
are  ye  ?  " 

But  mere  unity  is  no  necessary  proof  of  possessing  truth. 
Aaron,  and  the  vast  multitude  that  surrounded  him,  were 
united  in  the  worship  of  the  golden  calf:  were  they,  there- 
fore, right?  The  ten  tribes  that  met  at  Bethel  were 
united,  as  much  as  the  two  that  met  at  Jerusalem.  Satan 
and  his  angels  are  just  as  united  as  the  angels  in  heaven 
are ;  only,  the  union  of  the  angels  in  glory  is  the  concord 
of  the  holy,  while  the  union  of  Satan  and  his  host  is  the 
conspiracy  of  the  damned.  It  is  not  mere  union,  but  the 
principles  and  grounds  of  it,  that  entitle  it  to  respect  or 
reverence.  Unity,  let  it  be  remembered,  is  not  the  concord 
of  any  one  contemporaneous  generation,  but  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  with  the  eighteenth,  and  with  every  pre- 
ceding one. 

Uniformity  is  the  just  expression  of  the  sort  of  union  in 
the  Church  of  Rome,  rather  than  unity ;  and  it  is  produced 
by  two  causes  —  ignorance  and  compression.  The  iirst 
cause  is  ignorance.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  were  united 
in  the  worship  of  idols  before  they  became  Christians,  the 


THE    UNITY    OF   THE    CHURCH.  195 

Ephesians  were  united  in  the  worship  of  Diana,  and  the 
Jews  were  perfectly  agreed  in  crying,  with  simultaneous 
accents,  "  Crucify  him,  crucify  him :  **  but  the  moment  that 
light  shone  amid  the  Ephesians,  they  were  disunited,  a 
party  following  Christ,  and  a  party  following  Diana;  the 
moment  that  the  Gospel  sounded  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Tiber,  and  in  the  groves  of  Ilissus,  that  moment  Greek  and 
Roman  were  divided  on  the  worship  of  their  idols.  Light 
dissolves  the  union  that  is  produced  in  ignorance ;  as  in  the 
gigantic  iceberg,  a  collection  of  all  heterogeneous  elements, 
which  is  dissolved  when  the  sunbeams  of  heaven  rest  upon 
it,  and  its  waters  flow  in  one  way,  and  its  chaff  and  hay  and 
stubble  are  driven  in  another  by  the  winds  of  heaven. 
And,  secondly,  the  uniformity  in  the  Church  of  Rome  is 
produced  by  compression.  In  Spain,  all  are  perfectly 
united,  but  it  is  the  union  of  the  dead ;  the  people  that  live 
upon  the  earth  above,  being  scarcely  better  than  those  who 
slumber  in  the  graves  below.  And,  if  mere  compression  or 
compulsion  be  all  that  is  required  to  complete  unity.  Botany 
Bay  must  be  the  fairest  colony  appended  to  the  British 
dominions,  for  there  it  exists  in  perfection ;  and,  on  this 
ground,  thirty-nine  bayonets  would  be  a  more  powerful 
guarantee  for  union  than  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  Newgate 
more  renowned  for  it  than  a  Christian  church.  But  this  is 
not  the  unity  for  which  we  contend.  We  seek  the  unity  of 
minds  enlightened  by  the  truth,  the  unity  of  hearts  im- 
pressed by  the  truth ;  but  the  unity  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
is  the  unity  of  "unclean  birds,"  kept  together  by  a  force  ah 
extra,  and  not  by  internal  attraction.  The  hands  are  united, 
but  the  hearts  are  at  antipodes.  The  fear  of  Purgatory,  and 
the  penalties  of  the  Church,  guarantee  a  semblance  of 
unity ;  but  it  is  not  real.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  place,  to 
use  the  language  of  Milton,  — 

"  Where  all  life  dies,  death  lives,  and  nature  breeds 
Perverse  all  monstrous,  all  prodigious  things, 


196  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Abominable,  unutterable,  and  worse 

Than  fables  yet  have  feign' d,  or  fear  conceived; 

Gorgons,  and  Hydras,  and  Chimeras  dire." 

Mine  be  the  rolling  waves  of  the  ocean,  rather  than  the 
putrefying  Dead  Sea !  Mine  be  the  roaring  cataract,  rather 
than  the  stagnant  marsh !  Mine  be  all  the  excitement  of 
living  truth,  rather  than  the  quiescence  of  pestilential  error ! 
"A  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion." 

And  here  I  must  state,  that  I  do  not  think  it  was  ever 
the  mind  of  God  that  there  should  be  perfect  uniformity  in 
the  visible  Church  of  Christ.  I  am  attached  to  my  own 
Church,  and  (I  will  use  the  expression)  most  enthusiasti- 
cally; but  I  should  deplore  the  day  when  all  England's 
Christians  should  become  converts  to  its  polity ;  and  I 
should  equally  deplore  the  day  when  they  should  all  become 
Episcopalians.  I  believe  it  to  be  God's  ordinance,  that 
while  there  is  only  one  ark,  there  should  be  different  cham- 
bers in  it ;  that  there  should  be  branches  differing  in  out- 
ward peculiarity,  while  there  is  only  one  living  Yine,  and 
one  pervading  sap.  There  is  one  living  Catholic  Church, 
but  there  may  be  many  outward  manifestations  and  devel- 
opments of  it,  in  its  contact  with  the  world.  And  it  is  by 
this  very  process  that  the  whole  catholic  truth  of  God  is 
preserved.  You  will  always  find,  that  one  communion  holds 
in  solution  a  truth  overlooked  by  its  neighbor,  and  that 
neighbor  a  truth  overlooked  by  another ;  and  it  is  by  these 
diversities  of  outward  constitution,  that  all  the  truths  of 
Christianity  are  held  prominent  and  distinct.  If  all  men 
were  advocates  of  an  Establishment,  voluntary  liberality 
would  be  repressed ;  if  all  men  were  advocates  of  the  volun- 
tary system,  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  nations  would 
be  overlooked.  In  Presbytery,  we  have  retained  the  pres- 
byter, but  lost  the  oversight  of  the  bishop ;  in  Episcopacy 
they  have  retained  the  bishop's  superintendence,  but  lost 
the  presbyter;   in  Independency,  they  have   retained  the 


THE   UNITY   OP   THE    CHURCH.  197 

power  of  the  people,  but  have  lost  what  I  conceive  to  be 
necessary  for  the  unity  and  government  of  the  church  — 
the  superintendence  of  the  bishop  or  presbytery.  But  thus 
it  happen.s,  that  one  party  preserves  that  which  the  other 
has  lost  sight  of;  and  thus  if  we  take  in  the  whole  Catholic 
Church  of  Christ,  we  see  all  the  truths  of  the  Gospel 
therein  developed,  manifested,  and  maintained.  But  I  allege, 
that  it  is  not  God's  ordinance  that  there  should  be  uniformity 
in  nature,  and  that  this  is  indicative  of  his  mind  with  regard 
to  the  Church.  Look  to  the  firmament  above  :  you  cannot 
count  its  thousands  of  stars,  and  "  one  star  diifereth  from 
another  star  in  glory : "  God  might  have  made  them  alike, 
but  he  has  not  done  so.  View  the  whole  earth  in  the 
season  of  spring  or  of  summer:  one  flower  is  a  rose,  and 
another  is  a  violet,  another  a  lily  ;  there  is  the  same  generic 
law  for  the  whole  vegetable  creation,  but  the  specific  de- 
velopments of  it  arc  distinct  and  diversified.  Search  into 
the  bowels  of  the  earth :  the  minerals  are  essentially  the 
same,  but  their  crystallization  varied  and  diversified,  though 
all  under  one  law.  Look  upon  this  vast  assembly;  each 
face  is  a  human  face,  and  yet  there  are  not  two  counte- 
nances alike.  Uniformity  would  be  a  blemish ;  diversity  is 
a  beauty.  And  I  allege,  that  to  seek  uniformity  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  is  to  seek  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  God. 
To  advocate  unity  at  heart,  amidst  diversity  of  manifesta- 
tion, is  to  join  in  the  prayer  of  our  blessed  Lord,  "  That 
they  all  may  be  one." 

We  have,  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  a  perfect  specimen  of  the  unity  of  the  Protestant 
Church :  "  one  body,  one  spirit,  one  hope,  one  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all."  In  once 
arguing  with  a  Roman  Catholic,  I  put  the  question  to  the 
whole  assembly,  if  these  w-ere  not  the  characteristics  of 
their  Church.  I  asked  the  Baptists,  and  they  answered, 
"Yes;"  I  asked  the  Independent,  -and  they  answered, 
17* 


198  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

"Yes;"  I  asked  the  Episcopalians,  and  they  answered, 
"Yes."  We  have,  then,  in  our  only  rule  of  faith  —  the 
Bible  —  the  sevenfold  unity  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
true  Church ;  and  therefore  Protestants,  however  different 
in  name,  are  essentially  one  in  truth.  In  the  Church  of 
Rome,  they  will  forgive  you  every  error  if  you  will  only 
cling  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter ;  in  the  Protestant  Church, 
we  forgive  you  every  circumstantial  difference  if  you  only 
cleave  to  Christ.  The  points  of  diversity  are,  Christ  and 
Antichrist.  In  the  Church  of  Home,  they  pardon  all,  if  all 
only  look  to  the  Pope ;  in  the  Protestant  Church,  we  for- 
give all  circumstantial  diversities,  on  condition  that  all 
rejoice  in  "  beholding  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world." 

Let  me  now  drav^  my  remarks  to  a  close  on  this  head,  by 
giving  some  practical  advice  to  Protestants. 

And  first,  let  our  common  faith  be  written  as  with  a  dia- 
mond's point  upon  the  living  rock ;  let  our  diversities  in 
regimen  and  ecclesiastical  discipline  be  inscribed  as  upon 
the  shifting  sand.  Cast  away  Satan's  microscope,  which 
magnifies  the  points  of  divergence;  use  God's  telescope, 
which  brings  within  the  horizon  of  your  view  the  manifold 
and  mingling  glories,  in  the  magnificence  of  which  all  our 
contrarieties  and  shades  of  sentiment  are  merged  and  lost. 
The  things  in  which  we  agree  are  majestic  as  the  attributes 
of  God,  and  enduring  as  the  eternity  to  which  they  point ; 
the  things  in  which  we  differ  are  trivial,  and  it  needs  an  un- 
charitable microscope  to  magnify  and  discover  them.  The 
points  in  which  we  differ  are  like  chaff  in  comparison  with 
the  wheat ;  the  doctrines  in  which  we  agree  are  precious 
and  weighty  as  the  virgin  gold.  Our  Lord's  constant  in- 
junction is,  "  A  new  commandment  give  I  unto  you,  that  ye 
love  one  another ;  "  "  Let  brotherly  love  continue."  And 
all  this  I  will  sum  up  in  that  beautiful  sentiment  — "  In 
essential  things  unity,  in  doubtful  things  liberty,  in  all  things 
charity." 


THE   UNITY   OF   THE   CHURCH.  199 

Again :  Let  me  urge  union  and  communion  among  all 
true  Christians,  on  the  ground  of  our  near  and  dear  rela- 
tionship. We  are  fellow-soldiers,  fellow-travellers,  fellow- 
voyagers.  "  Let  there  be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee,  between 
thy  herdmen  and  my  berdmen ;  for  we  be  brethren."  It  is 
our  solemn  duty  to  cultivate  this  union.  We  are  only  in- 
superable, whilst  we  are  inseparable.  Remember  the  bundle 
of  arrows:  united,  incapable  of  being  broken;  disunited, 
severed  easily  into  pieces. 

To  enforce  and  illustrate  this  advice,  let  me  call  upon  all 
true  Christians  to  look  less  at  the  defects  by  which  their 
brethren  are  deformed,  and  more  intensely  at  the  beauties 
by  which  they  are  distinguished.  When  1  look  at  the  Inde- 
pendent Dissenters,  I  will  forget  any  that  have  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  charity,  and  think  of  a  Moffat,  of  a  Williams,  and 
other  kindred  spirits.  When  we  look  at  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  let  us  forget  its  recent  fierce  and  headstrong  spirits, 
who  have  reflected  no  honor  upon  it,  and  think  of  its  many 
peaceful  and  holy  ministers.  And  wlien  we  look  at  the 
Church  of  England,  let  us  forget  its  Newmans,  its  Puseys, 
and  its  Hooks,  and  think  of  its  Noels,  its  M'Neiles,  its  Bick- 
ersteths,  its  Sumners,  and  its  devoted  bishops,  who  in  past 
ages  have  shed  a  halo  and  a  glory  upon  Christendom.  Act 
the  part  of  the  painter,  who  was  called  upon  to  sketch  Alex- 
ander the  Great.  Alexander  had  a  scar  upon  his  forehead, 
which  he  had  received  in  the  course  of  his  Macedonian  bat- 
tles ;  and  the  painter  was  perplexed  to  find  a  way  by  which 
to  escape  showing  this  deformity  on  the  portrait :  at  last  he 
hit  upon  the  happy  expedient  of  representing  the  monarch 
sitting  in  his  chair,  his  head  leaning  upon  his  right  arm,  and 
the  forefinger  covering  the  scar  upon  his  brow.  When  I 
sketch  the  Independent  communion,  I  would  put  my  finger 
upon  the  scar  by  which  it  may  be  deformed ;  when  you 
sketch  the  Church  of  Scotland,  lay  the  finger  of  charity  upon 
the  scar  by  which  she  has  been  defaced ;  when  we  sketch 


200  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  Church  of  England,  let  us  put  our  finger  over  the  scar 
which  I  fear  is  growing  in  breadth  and  deformity  upon  her ; 
and  I  would  say  the  same  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  only  she 
is  all  scar  —  there  is  no  soundness  in  her  at  all. 

This  is  God's  way  of  treating  us,  and  it  ought  to  be  our 
way  of  treating  one  another.  When  Rahab  is  referred  to 
in  Scripture,  Rahab's  lie  is  not  mentioned,  but  Rahab's  faith 
is  spoken  of.  When  Job  is  referred  to,  his  fretfulness  is  for- 
gotten, and  his  patience  is  canonized.  When  David  is  men- 
tioned, David's  sin  is  not  spoken  of,  but  David's  grace  is  re- 
membered. And  if  we  had  only  love  in  our  hearts,  depend 
upon  it,  there  would  be  greater  charity  in  our  sketches  of 
one  another.  Love  is  the  Ten  Commandments  kept  in  a 
monosyllable,  just  as  sin  is  the  Ten  Commandments  broken 
in  a  monosyllable.  If  we  could  only  believe  it,  we  are  really 
and  truly  one.  I  do  not  ask  any  one  to  break  down  his 
ecclesiastical  polity  ;  I  do  not  ask  any  one  to  violate  the  laws 
he  has  subscribed ;  but  I  ask  you,  in  every  holy  and  Chris- 
tian work,  to  feel,  that  whatever  the  color  of  the  robes  in 
which  your  ministers  preach,  or  the  forms  in  which  you  wor- 
ship, you  are,  if  God's  children,  essentially  and  truly  one. 
Take  a  quantity  of  quicksilver,  and  throw  it  upon  the  earth, 
and  it  breaks  into  a  thousand  globules :  Why  ?  Because  of 
the  unevenness  of  the  earth's  surface.  But  the  affinities  of 
the  quicksilver  are  not  destroyed :  use  a  little  care,  a  little 
gentleness  —  collect  the  globules,  and  they  will  unite  into  a 
bright  mass,  reflecting  your  countenance  as  you  behold  it. 
So  with  Christians:  it  is  earth  that  originates  the  contra- 
rieties ;  it  is  sin  that  severs  :  a  little  charity  might  soon 
collect  them  into  one  common  mass,  reflecting  the  glory 
of  their  common  God,  the  righteousness  of  their  common 
Saviour,  and  the  splendor  of  their  everlasting  home. 

Finally :  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  Protestant  Church, 
let  us  live  nearer  to  Christ,  that  we  may  live  nearer  to  one 
another.     You  know,  that  in  a  circumference  or  hoop,  if 


THE    UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  201 

there  are  a  number  of  radii  or  lines  proceeding  from  the 
circumference  towards  the  centre,  as  each  line  approaches 
the  centre  it  comes  nearer  to  its  neighbor.  So  in  the  Gos- 
pel :  Christ  is  the  great  centre ;  we  are  converts  from  the 
circumference  of  the  wide  world ;  and  the  nearer  we  come 
to  Christ,  the  nearer  we  come  to  one  another.  And  it  is 
when  we  are  absorbed,  and  meet  in  Christ,  that  "  Ephraim 
shall  not  envy  Judah,  and  Judah  shall  not  vex  Ephraim." 

And  now,  if  there  be  in  this  assembly  any  Roman  Cath- 
olic, (and  I  know  that  on  the  past  occasions  there  have  been 
many,)  let  me  adjure  him  to  burst  the  withes  of  that  church 
and  priesthood  by  which  he  is  bound,  and  to  come  forth  into 
the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  makes  his  people  free.  Let 
me  tell  you  of  the  true  Purgatory  —  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  that  "  cleanseth  from  all  sin ; "  let  me  tell  you  of  the 
only  Saviour  —  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.  Belong 
you  to  the  Romish  Church,  or  belong  you  to  the  Protestant, 
if  you  look  away  from  Mary,  and  from  saints  and  angels, 
and  look  by  faith  to  the  Son  of  God  alone,  you  shall  never 
come  into  condemnation. 

May  apostolical  succession  be  felt  less  and  less  valuable 
in  our  ostimation !  may  apostolical  doctrine  be  more !  May 
the  uniformity  of  Rome  be  scattered  and  broken,  as  by  a 
thunder-peal!  may  the  unity  of  the  church  of  the  living 
God  reign  and  spread  on  earth,  till  it  is  lost  in  the  glory  of 
the  church  triumphant  in  heaven ! 


[2021 


LECTURE    VIII. 


THE    FATHERS. 


The  Fathers  are  not  safe  expositors  of  Holy  Scripture, 
nor  is  the  Nicene  Church  the  right  model  of  the  Christian 
Church.  I  shall  have  to  tax  your  patience  to  its  very 
utmost,  and  to  draw  upon  your  indulgence  to  no  ordinary 
extent ;  because  what  I  shall  adduce  will  be  less  of  argu- 
ment or  illustration,  and  more  of  dry  but  important  and 
authentic  documents,  proving,  by  bare  and  stern  facts,  the 
principles  I  am  anxious  to  inculcate. 

The  two  topics  before  us  this  evening  for  discussion  are  — 
the  Fathers,  and  the  Nicene  Church.  It  will  require  some 
preliminary  explanation  to  make  you  clearly  understand 
what  these  are.  I  can  conceive  that  "  Nicene  Church,"  and 
"  Fathers,"  and  other  terms  to  which  modern  controversy 
has  been  obliged  to  have  recourse,  must  sound  as  something 
approaching  an  unknown  tongue  in  the  ears  of  merely  Bible 
taught  and  evangelical  Christians.  But  these  words,  I 
assure  you,  play  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  the  present  day ; 
and  it  is  most  important  —  nay,  I  hold  it,  under  God,  almost 
essential  to  your  protection  from  poisonous  and  deleterious 
tenets  —  that  you  should  fairly  understand  them,  and  be 
able  fully  and  firmly  to  repel  the  deductions  that  are  too 
frequently  made  from  them. 

By  the  Fathers  is  meant  certain  divines  who  flourished 
during  the  first  five  centuries,  though  some  say  twelve  cen- 
turies, in  order  to  include  St.  Bernard,  of  the  Christian 
Church.     Some  of  these  were  distinguished  for  their  genius, 


THE    FATHERS.  203 

some  for  their  eloquence,  a  few  for  their  piety,  and  too  many 
for  their  fanaticism  and  superstition.  It  is  recorded  by  Dr 
Delahogue,  (who  was  professor  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Col- 
lege of  Maynooth,)  on  the  authority  of  Eusebius,  that  the 
fathers  who  were  really  most  fitted  to  be  the  luminaries  of  the 
age  in  which  they  lived,  were  too  busy  in  preparing  their 
flocks  for  martyrdom,  to  commit  any  thing  to  writing ;  and, 
therefore,  by  the  admission  of  this  Roman  Catholic  divine, 
we  have  not  the  full  and  fair  exponent  of  the  views  of  all 
the  fathers  of  the  earlier  centuries,  but  only  of  those  who 
were  most  ambitious  of  literary  distinction,  and  least  atten- 
tive to  their  charges.  It  is  generally  true  in  the  present 
day,  that  the  minister  who  has  a  large  congregation,  and 
much  to  do  in  it,  has  very  little  time  for  writing  elaborate 
treatises  upon  any  of  the  controversies  of  the  age,  or  even 
for  publishing  sermons.  It  was  so  then :  the  most  devoted 
and  pious  of  the  fathers  were  busy  teaching  their  flocks ; 
the  more  vain  and  ambitious  occupied  their  time  in  prepar- 
ing treatises.  If  all  the  fathers  who  signalized  the  age  had 
committed  their  sentiments  to  writing,  we  might  then  have 
had  a  fair  representation  of  the  theology  of  the  Church  of 
the  fathers ;  but  as  only  a  few  have  done  so  (many  even  of 
their  writings  being  mutilated  or  lost),  and  these  not  the 
most  devoted  and  spiritually  minded,  I  contend,  that  it  is  as 
unjust  to  judge  of  the  theology  of  the  early  centuries  by 
the  writings  of  the  few  fathers  who  are  its  only  surviving 
representatives,  as  it  would  be  to  judge  of  the  theology  of 
the  nineteenth  century  by  the  sermons  of  Mr.  Newman,  the 
speeches  of  Dr.  Candlish,  or  the  various  productions  of  the 
late  Edward  Irving.  It  is  admitted,  moreover,  by  Roman 
^Catholic  divines,  that  some  of  the  fathers  have  erred,  that 
not  a  few  of  them  have  broached  heresies,  and  that  they 
must  be  read  in  the  light  of  "  the  Church,"  in  order  to  their 
being  read  safely. 

But  let  me  observe,  that  those  called  thi.,iathsrs  are  not 

tthiversittI 


204  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

strictly  and  properly  the  fathers  at  all.  The  advantage 
taken  by  the  advocates  of  their  writings,  as  exponents  of 
primitive  theology,  is  this  —  that  these  are  the  men  who 
lived  near  the  apostles,  and  are  covered  with  the  hoar  of  a 
thousand  years ;  and  that  it  becomes  us,  the  mere  youths 
and  striplings  of  a  day,  to  defer  to  the  grey  hairs,  and  rev- 
erence the  experience,  of  a  remote  and  venerable  age. 
Now,  I  contend  that  the  gifted  divines  of  the  present  age 
are  the  true  fathers  of  the  Christian  Church;  and  that 
Augustine,  and  Jerome,  and  Chrysostom,  were,  in  compari- 
son, but  the  beardless  boys  of  the  Christian  dispensation. 
My  reason  for  this  strange,  and  apparently  to  a  Roman 
Catholic,  extravagant  assertion,  is,  I  think,  a  very  just  one. 
The  great  majority  of  the  fathers,  probably  nine  tenths  of 
them,  never  saw  an  apostle.  Twenty  or  two  hundred  years 
after  the  death  of  an  apostle,  are  about  equal,  in  as  far  as 
the  knowledge  of  his  views  is  concerned.  What  do  we 
know  of  Martin  Luther,  after  the  lapse  of  three  hundred 
years,  except  what  we  gather  from  his  written  and  accredited 
biography?  What  more  did  our  fathers  know  of  him  a 
hundred  years  ago  ?  How  much  do  we  know  of  John  Wes- 
ley, except  from  his  writings  ?  Scarcely  any  thing ;  and  a 
person  living  a  thousand  years  hence,  will  be  just  as  likely 
to  understand  and  estimate  properly  the  character  of  that 
remarkable  man,  as  a  person  living  only  a  hundred  years 
after  his  death.  The  length  of  the  intervening  period 
makes  little  difference,  if  there  is  no  personal  contact  with 
the  individual.  The  fathers  had  the  same  Bible  that  we 
have,  the  same  eyes,  the  same  judgments,  the  same  promise 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  guide  them ;  up  to  this  point  we  are 
perfectly  on  a  par.  What,  then,  is  the  point  of  difference 
between  them  and  us  ?  It  is  this :  we  have,  in  addition,  all 
the  biblical  criticism,  the  physical  illustrations,  the  philo- 
sophical facts,  the  historical  evidence,  which  have  been  accu- 
mulated by  an  induction  of  seventeen  centuries.     All  the 


THE   FATHERS.  205 

advantage,  therefore,  is  on  our  side,  as  interpreters  of  the 
Bible ;  and  I  contend  that  a  priori,  Matthew  Henry  and 
Scott  are  more  likely  to  be  sound  expositors  of  Scripture, 
than  the  most  illustrious  of  the  fathers.  And  I  am  prepared 
to  demonstrate,  by  reference  to  the  documentary  evidence, 
that  in  the  Commentaries  of  Henry  and  Scott,  in  the  ser- 
mons of  Robert  Hall  and  Bradley,  Hare,  Chalmers,  the 
Bishop  of  Chester,  and  other  divines  in  the  present  age,  we 
have  more  luminous  expositions  of  Christian  theology,  than 
in  the  splendid  orations  of  the  golden-mouthed  Chrysostom, 
or  in  the  evangelical  comments  of  Augustine,  or  in  the  more 
acrimonious  and  voluminous  discussions  of  Jerome.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  good  in  the  fathers ; 
quite  the  reverse :  I  allow,  that  in  the  Homilies  of  Chrysos- 
tom there  are  some  of  the  most  exquisite  gems  of  Christian 
theology,  an  eloquence  the  most  fervid,  the  impress  of  a 
genius  the  most  glowing,  feelings  the  most  earnest  and 
intense,  and  powers  of  reasoning  which  would  do  credit  to 
the  most  gifted  divine  of  the  age  in  which  we  live ;  in 
Augustine,  also,  the  most  orthodox  of  the  fathers,  there  is 
much  evangelical  and  vital  religion,  much  that  may  refresh 
and  edify  the  mind  of  any  reader ;  whilst  in  Jerome,  though 
too  notorious  for  controversial  bitterness,  there  is  no  little 
powerful  and  eloquent  writing.  But  when  I  have  made  all 
these  admissions,  I  contend,  without  being  guilty  of  a  foolish 
and  rather  popular  idolatry  of  the  nineteenth  century,  that 
they  are  no  more  to  be  compared  with  the  leading  divines 
of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  than  the  schoolmen  of  the 
dark  ages  with  Lord  Bacon,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  and  othei 
philosophers  who  flourished  since  the  era  of  inductive 
philosophy. 

I  fear  I  must  draw  upon  the  reader's  patience ;  but  I  am 

quite  sure  that  the  importance  of  the  extracts  I  have  to 

adduce,  will  make  up  for  the  apparent  tedium.    A  few  have 

appeared  in  print ;  the  great  mass  has  not :  they  have  been 

18 


206  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

taken  carefully  from  the  original  documents,  faithfully  trans* 
lated,  and  the  Greek  and  Latin  originals  are  at  hand ;  the 
reader,  may,  therefore,  depend  upon  them  as  authentic. 

What  I  wish  to  show  is,  first,  that  the  fathers  are  contra- 
dictory expositors  of  Scripture ;  and  next,  that  they  are 
superstitious  and  fanatical  commentators  upon  Scripture. 
And  the  inference  I  wish  to  draw  from  all  this  is,  that  they 
are  not  trustworthy  commentators  ;  and  next,  that  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  as  announced  in  the 
Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  is  wholly  untenable  :  "  Nor  will  I 
ever  take  and  interpret  the  Holy  Scriptures  otherwise  than 
according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers." 

The  first  passage  to  which  I  will  entreat  attention,  as  illus- 
trative of  this,  is  one  of  the  best  known  in  the  whole  word 
of  God ;  it  is  what  is  called  the  Lord's  Prayer.  One  would 
suppose,  that  if  there  be  a  part  of  Scripture  on  which  all 
interpreters  would  be  unanimous,  and  to  which  the  Romish 
prerequisite  of  patristic  unanimity  is  applicable,  it  would  be 
this ;  in  short,  that  one  meaning  would  pervade  the  com- 
mentaries upon  every  clause.  1  will  give  you,  however,  the 
opinions  of  the  different  fathers  upon  it,  as  quoted  by  Bel- 
larmine. 

1.  The  first  clause  is,  "Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven." 
Every  one  knows  perfectly  what  that  means.  But  Cyril, 
Ambrose,  and  Augustine,  understand  "  heaven  "  to  mean  the 
souls  of  all  believers ;  Gregory  Nyssen,  Chrysostom,  and 
the  monk  Bernard,  hold  that  "  heaven "  means  literally 
heaven.  Now  here  are  three  fathers  against  three,  on  the 
interpretation  of  the  very  first  clause  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

2.  I  take  the  next  clause,  "  Hallowed  be  thy  name."  Ter- 
tullian  and  Cyprian  say  this  means,  "  May  we  persevere  in 
holiness ; "  and  Cyril,  Chrysostom,  and  Jerome  say  it  means, 
"May  God's  name  be  glorified."  Here  so  many  fathers 
take  one  opinion,  and  so  many  precisely  the  opposite. 

3.  "Thy  kingdom  come."     Ambrose   says,  this  means 


THE    FATHERS.  207 

exclusively  and  only  the  kingdom  of  grace.  Tertullian, 
Cyprian,  and  Augustine  say,  it  means  the  kingdom  of  glory, 
and  not  the  kingdom  of  grace  at  all. 

4.  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  Ter- 
tullian and  Augustine  say,  "heaven"  means  the  spirit, 
and  "earth"  means  the  flesh:  Cyprian  says,  "heaven" 
means  the  faithful,  and  "  earth  "  means  unbelievers ;  and  the 
other  fathers  say,  that  "heaven"  means  just  heaven,  and 
"earth"  means  just  earth.  Now  observe  here,  again,  so 
many  fathers  for  the  first,  one  for  the  second,  and  the  rest 
for  a  third  and  totally  distinct  opinion.  Are  these  "  unani- 
mous "  interpreters  of  the  meaning  of  God's  word  ? 

5.  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  Chrysostom 
says,  this  means  our  bodily  nourishment.  Jerome,  Am- 
brose, and  Cyril  say,  that  it  means  only  our  spiritual  nour- 
ishment. 

6.  "  Forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  them  that 
trespass  against  us."  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Gregory  Nyssen, 
understood  this  to  be,  that  all,  both  sinners  and  saints,  need 
forgiveness.  Augustine  holds  that  it  means,  Forgive  us  our 
venial  sins  only,  but  not  our  mortal  sins.  Chrysostom  holds, 
that  even  after  baptism,  it  denotes  that  there  is  a  place  for 
penance  and  for  indulgence.  Now,  observe,  here  are  three 
different  interpretations  of  the  same  passage,  and  each  main- 
tained by  equally  illustrious  fathers  of  the  Christian  Church. 

7.  "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation."  Hilary  and  Jerome 
differ  a  little  from  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  and  Chrysostom, 
with  respect  to  this  clause. 

8.  "  Deliver  us  from  evil."  Gregory  Nyssen,  Cyril, 
Chrysostom,  Theophylact,  and  all  the  Greek  fathers,  hold 
that  this  means.  Deliver  us  from  Satan ;  but  Cyprian  and 
Augustine,  and  all  the  Latin  fathers,  hold  that  it  means. 
Deliver  us  from  evil  in  general. 

Such  is  the  exposition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  excavated 
from  the  writings  of  the  fathers ;  and  it  proves,  that  if  you 


208  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

expect  unanimity  in  the  interpretation  of  the  plainest  por- 
tions of  Scripture  by  the  fathers,  you  expect  that  which  is 
not  to  be  found. 

I  take  another  passage —  Genesis  iv.  23,  "  I  have  slain  a 
man  to  my  wounding,  and  a  young  man  to  my  hurt."  Upon 
this  text,  in  the  Douay  Bible,  there  is  the  following  note : 
"  It  is  the  tradition  of  the  Hebrews,  that  Lamech,  in  hunt- 
ing, slew  Cain,  mistaking  him  for  a  wild  beast ;  and  that, 
having  discovered  what  he  had  done,  he  beat  so  unmer- 
cifully the  youth  by  whom  he  was  led  into  the  mistake,  that 
he  died  of  the  blows."  In  the  fourth  century.  Pope  Dama- 
sus  wrote  to  Jerome,  requesting  him  to  impart  to  him  the 
meaning  of  certain  passages  of  Holy  Writ,  and  of  the  above 
passage  among  the  rest.  Pope  Damasus's  letter  is  published 
with  Jerome's  works.  Jerome  in  his  reply  says, "  Methusael 
begat  Lamech,  who  being  the  seventh  from  Adam,  not  spon- 
taneously, as  it  is  written  in  a  certain  Hebrew  book,  slew 
Cain,  as  he  afterwards  confesses,  '  For  I  have  slain  a  man 
to  my  wounding,'  etc."  Thus,  Jerome  adopts  the  Hebrew 
tradition,  and  believes  that  Lamech  slew  Cain;  and  the 
Douay  expositors  record  the  same  tradition.  When  we  refer, 
however,  to  Chrysostom,  we  find  that  he  evidently  took  a 
very  different  view  of  the  matter ;  for  he  thus  interprets  the 
meaning  of  God's  declaration  to  Cain  (in  cap.  iv.  Gen.  Horn, 
xix.)  —  "  Have  you  feared  lest  you  should  be  killed  ?  Be 
of  good  courage,  that  shall  not  happen.  For  he  who  does 
this  shall  expose  himself  to  a  sevenfold  penalty."  When, 
again,  we  refer  to  Augustine,  we  find  him  quite  at  variance 
with  Jerome ;  for  he  compares  the  mark  set  upon  the  Jews, 
and  their  preservation,  with  the  mark  set  upon  Cain,  and  his 
preservation  ;  and  the  comparison  could  not  have  been  justly 
instituted,  if  Cain  had  been  slain  by  Lamech.  Augustine's 
words  are  as  follows:  (Enarr.  in  Psalm  39.)  "For  Cain, 
the  elder  brother,  who  slew  the  younger  brother,  received  a 
mark,  ^  lest  any  man  should  slay  him,'  as  it  is  written  in 


THE    FATHERS.  209 

Genesis,  God  placed  a  mark  upon  Cain,  that  nobody  should 
slay  him.  Therefore,  the  Jewish  nation  itself  remains.  Cain 
has  not  been  slain,  he  has  not  been  slain,  he  has  his  mark." 
If  we  consult  Basil  (Epist.  260,  class  2),  we  find  that  he 
expressly  refers  to  the  tradition  that  Lamech  slew  Cain,  and 
affirms  that  it  was  not  true :  "  Some  think  that  Cain  was 
slain  by  Lamech,  as  if  he  had  lived  until  that  time  in  order 
that  he  might  yield  a  longer  punishment ;  but  it  is  not  true." 
Here  are  authorities  against  authorities  among  the  fathers : 
and  yet  the  Roman  Catholic  is  never  to  interpret  Scripture 
"  except  according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers." 
As  that  unanimity  does  not  exist  upon  the  two  passages  of 
Scripture  which  I  have  read  to  you,  every  Roman  Catholic 
is  bound,  on  his  Own  principles,  to  attach  no  meaning  to 
them  at  all,  and  every  Protestant  to  pause  before  he  receives 
implicitly  patristic  expositions. 

There  is  another  passage,  which  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  has  made  very  much  of,  as  defensive  of  the  doctrine 
of  Purgatory,  but  which,  upon  the  same  principle,  must  be 
discarded  altogether,  as  utterly  incapable  of  any  interpreta- 
tion at  all.  1  Corinthians  iii.  —  "  According  to  the  grace  of 
God  tliat  is  given  to  me,  as  a  wise  master-builder,  I  have 
laid  the  foundation,  and  another  buildeth  thereon.  But  let 
every  man  take  heed  how  he  buildeth  thereupon.  For  other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ.  Now  if  any  man  build  upon  this  foundation,  gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble,  every  man's  work 
shall  be  manifest;  for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it 
shall  be  revealed  by  fire,  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's 
work,  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide,  which  he 
hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward :  if  any 
man's  work  shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss;  but  he 
himself  shall  be  saved,  yet  so  as  by  fire."  Now  I  will  ex- 
tract the  epitome  which  Cardinal  Bellarmine  gives  of  the 
difficulties  of  this  passage,  and  the  differences  of  the  fathers ; 
18* 


210  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

'  "  The  difficulties  of  this  passage  are  jive  in  number.  1, 
What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  builders  ?  2.  What  is  to 
be  understood  by  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay, 
stubble  ?  3.  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  day  of  the 
Lord  ?  4.  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  fire,  of  which 
it  is  said,  that  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  it  shall  prove  every 
man's  work  ?  5.  AYhat  is  to  be  understood  by  the  fire,  of 
which  it  is  said,  he  shall  be  saved,  yet  so  as  by  fire  ?  When 
these  things  are  explained,  the  passage  will  he  clear. 

"  The  first  difficulty,  therefore,  is,  Who  are  the  architects 
who  build  upon  the  foundation  ?  The  blessed  Augustine,  in 
his  book  on  Faith  and  Works,  c.  16,  and  in  his  '  Enchirid- 
ion,' c.  6,  and  elsewhere,  thinks  that  all  Christians  are  here 
called  by  the  apostle  architects,  and  that  all  build  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  faith  either  good  or  bad  works.  Chrysos- 
tom,  Theodoret,  Theophylact,  and  Q^cumenius,  appear  to 
me  to  teach  the  same  upon  this  passage.  Many  others 
teach  that  only  the  doctors  and  preachers  of  the  Gospel  are 
here  called  architects  by  the  apostle.  Jerome  insinuates 
this  in  his  second  book  against  Jovinianus.  The  blessed 
Anselm  and  the  blessed  Thomas  hold  the  same  opinion  on 
this  passage,  although  they  do  not  reject  the  former  opinion. 
Many  more  moderns  think  the  same,  as  Dionysius  the  Car- 
thusian, Lyra,  Cajetan,  and  others. 

"  The  other  difficulty  is  rather  more  serious,  for  there  are 
six  opinions.  Some,  by  the  name  of  foundation,  understand 
a  true  but  an  ill  digested  faith ;  by  the  name  of  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones,  good  works ;  by  the  names  of  wood, 
hay,  and  stubble,  mortal  sins.  Thus  Chrysostom  upon  this 
place,  who  is  followed  by  Theophylact.  The  second  opinion 
is,  that  Christ,  or  the  preaching  of  the  faith,  is  to  be  under- 
stood by  the  name  of  foundation  :  that  by  the  names  of  gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  are  to  be  understood  Catholic  exposi- 
tions, as  the  commentary  of  Ambrose  and  even  Jerome  seem 
to  teach.     The  third  opinion,  by  the  name  foundation,  un- 


THE    FATHERS  211 

derstands  living  faith  ;  and  by  the  name  of  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  understands  works  of  supererogation,  etc. 
Thus  the  blessed  Augustine,  in  his  book  on  Faith  and 
Works,  lib.  6.  The  fourth  opinion  is  that  of  those  who  ex- 
plain by  gold,  silver,  etc.,  to  be  meant  good  works ;  by  hay, 
stubble,  etc.,  venial  sins.  Thus  the  blessed  Gregory,  in  the 
fourth  book  of  his  Dialogues,  c.  39,  and  others.  The  fifth 
is  the  opinion  of  those  who  understand  by  gold,  silver  etc., 
good  hearers ;  and  by  stubble  etc.,  bad  hearers.  Thus 
Theodoret  and  QEcumenius.  The  sixth  opinion,  which  we 
prefer  to  all,  is,  that  by  the  name  of  foundation  is  to  be  un- 
derstood Christ  as  preached  by  the  first  prea<?hers ;  by  the 
name  of  gold,  silver,  etc.  is  to  be  understood  the  useful  doc- 
trine of  the  other  preachers,  who  teach  those  who  now  re- 
ceived the  faith  ;  but  by  the  name  of  wood,  hay,  etc  is  to  be 
understood  the  doctrine,  not  indeed  heretical,  or  bad,  but 
singular,  of  those  preachers  who  preach  catholically  to  the 
Catholic  people,  without  the  fruit  and  usefulness  which  God 
requires. 

"  The  third  difficulty  regards  the  day  of  the  Lord.  Some 
understand  by  the  name  of  day,  the  present  life  or  the  time 
of  tribulation.  Thus  Augustine,  in  his  book  of  Faith  and 
Works,  c.  16,  and  Gregory,  in  the  fourth  book  of  his  Dia- 
logues, c.  39 But  all  the  ancients  seem  to  have  under- 
stood by  that  day,  the  day  of  the  last  judgment,  as  Theodo 
ret,  Theophylact,  Anselm,  and  others. 

"  The  fourth  difficulty  is,  What  is  the  fire,  which  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord  shall  prove  every  man's  work  ?  Some  un- 
derstand the  tribulations  of  this  life,  as  Augustine  and  Greg- 
ory, in  the  places  noted;  but  these  we  have  already  re- 
jected.    Some  understand  eternal  fire ;  but  that  cannot  be, 

for  fire  shall  not  try  the  building  of  gold  and  silver 

Some  understand  it  to  be  the  pains  of  purgatory ;  but  that 
cannot  be  truly  said.  First,  because  the  fire  of  purgatory 
does  not  prove  the  works  of  those  who  build  gold  and  silver ; 


212  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

but  the  fire,  of  which  we  are  speaking  shall  prove  every 
man's  work  what  it  is.  Secondly,  the  apostle  clearly  makes 
a  distinction  between  the  works  and  the  workmen,  and  says, 
concerning  the  fire,  that  it  shall  burn  the  works,  but  not  the 
workers ;  for  he  says,  '  if  any  one's  work  shall  remain,  and 
if  any  work  shall  burn  ; '  but  the  fire  of  purgatory,  which  is 
a  real  fire,  cannot  burn  works,  which  are  transitory  actions, 
and  have  already  passed.  Lastly,  it  would  follow  that  all 
men,  even  the  most  holy,  would  pass  through  the  fire  of 
purgatory,  and  be  saved  by  fire,  for  all  are  to  pass  through 
the  fire  of  which  we  are  speaking.  But  that  all  are  to  pass 
through  the  fire  of  purgatory,  and  be  saved  by  fire,  is  clearly 
false ;  for  the  apostle  here  openly  says,  that  only  those  who 
build  wood  and  hay  are  to  be  saved  as  if  by  fire  :  the  Church, 
also,  has  always  been  persuaded,  that  holy  martyrs,  and  in- 
fants dying  after  baptism,  are  presently  received  into  heaven 
without  any  passage  through  fire,  as  the  Council  of  Florence 
teaches  in  its  last  session.  It  remains,  therefore,  that  we 
should  say,  that  the  apostle  here  speaks  of  the  fire  of  the 
severe  and  just  judgment  of  God,  which  is  not  a  purging  or 
punishing  fire,  but  one  that  probes  and  examines.  Thus 
Ambrose  explains  it  on  Psalm  cxviii.  and  also  Sedulius. 

"  The  fifth  and  last  difficulty  is.  What  is  to  be  understood 
by  the  fire,  when  he  says,  '  But  he  shall  be  saved,  yet  so  as 
by  fire  ? '  Some  understand  the  tribulations  of  this  life ;  but 
this  cannot  be  properly  said,  because  then  even  he  who  built 
gold  and  silver  would  be  saved  by  fire.  Wherefore  Augus- 
tine and  Gregory,  who  are  the  authors  of  this  opinion,  when 
they  were  not  satisfied  with  it,  proposed  another,  of  which 
we  shall  speak  by  and  by.  Some  understand  it  to  be  eternal 
fire,  as  Chrysostom  and  Theophylact.  But  this  we  have 
already  refuted.  Others  understand  the  fire  of  the  confla- 
gration of  the  world.  It  is  therefore  the  common  opinion 
of  theologians,  that  by  the  name  of  this  fire  is  to  be  under- 
stood some  purgatorial  and  temporal  fire,  to  which,  after 


THE    FATHERS.  213 

death,  those  are  adjudged  who  are  found  in  their  tria}  to 
have  built  wood,  hay,  and  stubble." 

This  is  another  illustration  of  the  worthlessness  of  the 
comments  of  the  fathers  as  infallible  expositors,  and  the 
utter  absurdity  of  that  vow  which  every  Roman  Catholic 
makes  in  principle,  while  his  priests  make  it  in  words  — 
that  thej  will  not  interpret  Scripture  unless  "  according  to 
the  unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers."  And  if  ever  a 
Roman  Catholic  should  urge  upon  you  the  doctrine  of  Pur- 
gatory, building  it  upon  this  passage,  ask  him  if  he  is  not 
bound  by  the  laws  of  his  Church,  first  to  ascertain  that  the 
fathers  are  unanimous  upon  it ;  and  if  it  be  the  fact  that 
the  fathers  are  all  at  issue  upon  the  meaning  of  every  clause, 
tell  him  he  must  put  a  padlock  upon  his  mouth,  instead  of 
daring  to  determine  and  declare  the  meaning  of  a  passage, 
BO  contradictorily  explained  by  the  ancient  authorities. 

Let  us  take  another  passage,  a  very  favorite  text  with  the 
Church  of  Rome.  If  you  discuss  with  a  Roman  Catholic, 
Who  is  the  chief  bishop,  and  what  is  the  true  Church,  he 
will  tell  you,  Peter  is  the  rock  and  the  foundation  on  which 
the  Church  rests;  and  he  will  quote  the  words  —  "Thou 
art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church."  Now 
the  question  at  present  is,  not  what  is  the  true  meaning  of 
this  passage,  but  \vhether  the  fathers  shed  light  on  it,  and 
whether  a  Roman  Catholic  is  warranted  to  interpret  it.  If 
the  fathers  are  unanimous  in  the  interpretation  of  it,  then 
the  Roman  Catholic  is  bound  to  take  that  interpretation; 
but  if  they  are  not  unanimous,  he  is  bound  to  put  no  inter- 
pretation on  it  at  all.  Then  hear  what  the  fathers  say. 
Some  of  them  say,  that  the  rock  is  Peter's  faith ;  as  Cyril 
of  Alexandria,  (Dial.  4,  on  Holy  Trin.).  "He  called 
nothing  but  the  firm  and  immovable  faith  of  the  disciple 
the  rock  upon  which  the  Church  was  founded,  without  the 
possibility  of  falling : "  and  thus  also  Chrysostom  (Serm.  de 
Pent.)  — "  He  did  not  say,  upon  Peter,  for  he  did  not  found 


214  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

his  Church  upon  a  man,  but  upon  faith.  What,  therefore, 
is  meant  by  *  upon  this  rock  ?  '  Upon  the  confession  con- 
tained in  his  words."  Also  (Chrys.  Serm.  54,  on  Matt.) 
"And  I  say  unto  thee.  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  church ;  that  is  to  say,  upon  the  faith  of  the 
confession."  Augustine  sometimes  interprets  the  rock  to 
mean  Peter,  and  sometimes  to  mean  Christ ;  and  referring 
to  his  contradictions  in  his  Book  of  Retractations,  he  leaves 
the  reader  to  choose  for  himself  M'hichever  of  the  interpre- 
tations he  prefers.  His  words  are  the  following :  (Retract, 
lib.  1,)  "I  have  said,  in  a  certain  passage  respecting  the 
Apostle  Peter,  that  the  Church  is  founded  upon  him  as  upon 
a  rock But  I  know  that  I  have  frequently  after- 
wards so  expressed  myself  that  the  phrase,  '  upon  this  rock, 
should  be  understood  to  be  the  rock  which  Peter  confessed. 
For  it  was  not  said  to  him,  Thou  art  Petra,  but  Thou  art 
Petrus;  for  the  rock  was  Christ.  Let  the  reader  select 
which  of  these  two  opinions  he  deems  the  most  probable." 

On  the  same  passage  Roman  Catholics  build  the  position, 
that  Peter  had  an  absolute  supremacy  among  the  apostles, 
and,  therefore,  that  he  was  first  Pope  of  Rome,  the  present 
Pope  being  his  lineal  and  legitimate  successor.  But  Cyprian 
denies  that  Peter  had  any  successor.  He  says  (De  Unit. 
Eccles.),  "The  other  apostles  were  the  same  as  Peter, 
endowed  with  an  equal  fellowship  both  of  honor  and  power y 
(pari  consortio  proediti  et  honoris  et  potestatis,)  but  the  be- 
ginning proceeded  from  unity,  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
might  be  shown  to  be  one." 

Again,  take  the  passage,  "  Whose  sins  ye  remit,  they  are 
remitted;  and  whose  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained." 
Protestants  maintain  that  this  is  a  ministerial  and  declarative 
absolution;  Roman  Catholics,  that  it  is,  judicial ;  and  so  do 
the  Tractarians.  I  grieve  that  there  is  retained,  in  that 
magnificent  compendium  of  pure  devotion,  the  Prayerbook 
of  the  Church  of  England,  a  form  of  absolution  in  the  Ser- 


THE   FATHEES.  215 

vice  for  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick,  devoutly  used  by  Tracta- 
rians,  but  which  I  believe  a  clergyman  is  not  bound  to  use, 
and  which  I  admit  is  capable  of  some  explanation ;  but  the 
explanation  is  not  satisfactory  to  a  plain  unbiassed  mind,  and 
I  would  that  it  were  wholly  expunged ;  it  is  an  unhappy 
service,  which  is  now  being  revived  by  the  Tractarians,  after 
considerable  desuetude :  but  Protestants  hold,  that  even  in 
such  cases  the  minister  forgives  ministerially  ;  that  is,  he 
merely  declares  forgiveness  to  you,  provided  you  are  pen- 
itent and  believe.  The  Roman  Catholic  holds  that  it  is  a 
judicial  act,  and  that  the  priest  forgives  exactly  as  if  he  were 
God,  and  the  penitent  seated  in  his  presence.  Upon  this 
passage  of  Scripture,  however,  Chrysostom  expresses  him- 
self in  terms  which  agree  with  the  decree  of  the  Council  of 
Trent ;  while  Augustine,  in  opposition  to  the  Donatists,  who 
claimed  this  priestly  power,  maintains  that  the  act  is  merely 
ministerial.  For  he  says,  (Contra  Epist.  Parmeniani,  lib.  2,) 
"  That  passage  in  the  Gospel,  *  As  my  Father  hath  sent  me, 
so  also  do  I  send  you ;  when  he  had  said  this  he  breathed 
upon  them,  and  said,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;  if  you 
forgive  any  one's  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven ;  and  if  you 
retain  any  one's  sins,  they  shall  be  retained,'  —  would  be 
against  us,  so  that  we  should  be  compelled  to  confess  that 
this  was  done  hy  men,  and  not  through  men,  if  after  he  had 
said,  '  And   I  also   send  you,'  he  had  immediately  added, 

*  Whose  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  ;  and  whose  sins  ye 
retain,  they  shall  be  retained.'  But  since  the  words  are 
introduced,  *  When  he  hud  said  this,  he  breathed  upon  them, 
and  said,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost,'  and  then  was  conferred 
through  them  either  the  remission  or  retention  of  sins,  it  is 
sufficiently  shown,  that  they  themselves  did  not  act,  but  the 
Holy  Spirit  through  them ;    as  he  says  in  another  place, 

*  It  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  who  is  in  you.' " 
In  opposition  to  this  interpretation  of  Augustine's,  the 
Council  of  Trent  decree,  that  the  priest  forgives  sins  judi 


216  HE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

cially,  and  not  ministerially ;  and  therefore  the  Church  of 
Eome,  in  this  instance,  interprets  Scripture  inconsistently 
with  the  opinion  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the 
fathers. 

Again:  John  v.  39,  —  "Search  the  Scriptures."  In  the 
Roman  Catholic  version  it  is  —  "  Ye  search  the  Scriptures  ; " 
and  as  the  Greek  verb  is  the  same  in  the  indicative  as  in  the 
imperative  mood,  they  may  be  warranted  in  this  translation  ; 
although  I  conceive  it  makes  no  difference,  for  the  passage, 
even  in  the  indicative,  implies  divine  acquiescence  in  the  pro- 
priety of  the  practice;  either  way  it  proves  the  duty  of 
searching  the  Scriptures.  Cyril  of  Alexandria  agrees  with 
the  Church  of  Rome,  in  considering  that  the  passage  is  de- 
clarative and  does  not  contain  a  command  to  search  the 
Scriptures  ;  but  Chrysostom  maintains  that  it  does.  Chry- 
sostom  says,  in  his  40th  Homily  on  St.  John's  Gospel  — 
"  He  did  not  say,  read  the  Scriptures,  but  search  the  Scrip- 
tures, since  the  things  that  are  said  of  him  require  much 
research.  For  this  reason  he  commands  (xalevei)  them  to 
search  with  diligence,  that  they  may  discover  the  things  that 
lie  deep." 

One  more  passage :  Matthew  v.  25,  —  "  Agree  with  thine 
adversary  quickly."  Jerome  is  of  opinion  that  the  adver- 
sary is  the  brother  who  is  offended,  but  he  mentions  that 
others  held  that  the  devil  was  the  adversary,  (alii  juxta  epis- 
tolam  Petri  dicentis  "adversarius  vester  diabolus,"  etc.) 
Bellarmine  informs  us  (c.  iv.  De  Purgatorio,  lib.  1),  that 
"some  by  the  adversary  understand  4he  devil,' as  Origen 
(Hom.  35,  on  Luke),  Ambrose,  Enthymius,  and  Theophylact 
(in  cap.  12  Lucae),  and  Jerome  (in  Epist.  8  ad  Demet.). 
Others  understand  by  the  adversary  *  the  flesh,'  but  these  are 
justly  refuted  by  Augustine.  Others  by  the  adversary 
understand  the  Spirit,  which  the  flesh  is  commanded  to 
obey;  but  Jerome  refutes  this.  Others  by  the  adversary 
xmderstand  sin ;  thus  Ambrose :  this  is  not  probable.    Others 


THE   FATHERS.  217 

by  the  adversary  understand  another  man  that  has  injured 
us,  or  whom  we  have  mjured;  thus  Hilary,  Anselm,  and 
Jerome  (on  Matt.  v.).  The  truest  exposition  is,  that  the 
adversary  is  the  law  of  God,  or  God  himself.  Thus  Am- 
brose, Anselm,  and  Augustine,  Gregory,  and  Bernard. 

These  instances  will  suffice  to  show,  that  the  vow  of  the 
Eoman  Catholic,  "  never  to  interpret  Holy  Scripture  other- 
wise than  according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers,**" 
is  precisely  equivalent  to  removing  the  Scriptures  from  the 
use  of  clergy  and  laity  together,  or  making  them  a  dead 
letter,  capable  of  bearing  any  meaning,  or  justifying  any 
interpretation.  I  know  that  distinguished  Roman  Catholie 
divines  have  accused  the  advocates  of  the  Protestant  Church 
of  making  false  or  disingenuous  statements,  when  it  has 
been  alleged  that  the  Scriptures  are  practically  withheld 
from  the  perusal  of  the  people ;  and  I  admit,  that  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  amid  the  light  and  the  privileges  of  Eng- 
land, the  Scriptures  are,  with  certain  limitations,  allowed  by 
priests  to  the  laity ;  but  it  is  giving  them  a  book  with  a  pad- 
lock upon  it,  of  which  the  priest  holds  the  key ;  it  is  like 
telling  them  to  drink  of  a  fountain,  over  the  mouth  of  which 
is  a  stone  they  are  unable  to  roll  away ;  it  is  giving  the 
Scriptures  to  the  eye,  but  withholding  the  Scriptures  from 
the  heart.  Suppose  a  Roman  Cathohc  laborer,  just  arrived 
from  the  bogs  of  Ireland,  is  told  and  taught  not  to  interpret 
a  chapter  of  God's  blessed  book,  till  he  has  found  "the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers  "  upon  it.  I  refer  him  to 
the  passage  — "  Search  the  Scriptures ; "  he  says  to  me, 
"  That  passage  may  have  a  meaning  which  you  and  I  know 
nothing  of;  I  must  ascertain  *  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
fathers,'  before  I  put  any  meaning  upon  it  at  all.'*  He  goes 
to  the  British  Museum,  tells  the  Librarian  his  vow,  and 
requests  to  be  furnished  with  the  writings  of  the  fathers.  To 
his  surprise  and  horror,  some  hundred  folio  volumes  are 
brought  to  him  —  say,  the  Benedictine  edition  of  the  ancient 
19 


218  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

fathers.  He  opens  a  volume,  and  is  amazea  to  find  it  writ- 
ten in  Latin  or  Greek;  of  either  of  which  languages  he 
never  learned  a  word  in  his  life.  But  supposing  (what  is 
very  improbable)  he  masters  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages, 
or  is  satisfied  to  take  an  unauthorized  translation,  such  as  is 
given  forth  by  the  Oxford  writers  in  their  edition,  —  and  a 
Eoman  Catholic  may,  on  the  whole,  trust  an  Oxford  divine 
in  this  matter,  —  suppose,  then,  that  by  the  aid  of  an  elab- 
orate index,  he  ascertains  all  the  recorded  views  of  the 
fathers  respecting  the  passage  in  question ;  —  he  finds,  that 
one  father  says  the  text  in  question  is  not  a  command  to 
search  the  Scriptures ;  another  father  says  it  is  a  command, 
and  means,  you  are  to  search  them  ;  another  says  it  means 
something  else  ;  and  at  the  close  of  his  laborious  and  perse- 
vering researches,  he  finds  that  there  is  no  unanimity  on  this 
and  innumerable  other  passages,  and  he  must  return  to  his 
home  wholly  at  a  loss,  shut  up  his  Bible,  and  wait  for  its 
meaning  till  the  fathers  have  become  unanimous  (which  will 
be  at  "  the  Greek  calends,")  or  till  Lifallibility  lays  them  on 
its  Procrustes'  bed  and  makes  them  so,  before  he  puts  any 
meaning  upon  it  at  all. 

Having  shown  you  that  the  opinions  of  the  fathers  are 
contradictory,  I  wish  to  point  out,  in  the  next  place,  how 
fanatical  and  superstitious  are  many  of  the  interpretations 
of  the  fathers.  The  Oxford  divines  assert,  that  the  fathers 
are  the  truest  exponents  of  the  primitive  theology ;  and  I 
wish  to  show  you  the  consequences  of  this  assertion. 

I  quote  now  from  the  Preface  of  the  Benedictine  edition 
of  St.  Basil,  dated  Paris,  1721.  The  writer  remarks  upon 
the  six  days'  creation.  "Among  those,"  say  the  Benedic- 
tines, "  who  thought  that  things  were  created  at  once,  and 
not  by  degrees,  Philo  may  be  first  enumerated.  It  is  not 
wonderful  that  Origen,  who  loved  allegories  more  than  all 
men,  should  have  run  into  the  same  opinion.  With  these 
may  be  reckoned  that  most  valiant  defender  of  the  CathoHc 


THE   FATHERS.  219 

faith,  Athanasius.  Gregory  Nyssen  speaks  so  plainly,  that 
one  cannot  doubt  that  he  embraced  the  same  opinion.  It 
(this  opinion)  appeared  to  Basil  more  probable  than  the 
other;  bnt  this  most  prudent  man  would  not  assert  any 
thing  positively  in  a  doubtful  matter."  The  fathers,  you 
observe,  were  divided  on  the  question.  Whether  the  record 
of  the  creation  in  the  book  of  Genesis  was  an  historical 
fact,  or  a  myth. 

Again :  on  the  Spirit  moving  on  the  waters,  I  quote  from 
the  Benedictine  edition  of  Chrysostom,  in  c.  1,  Genesis, 
Horn.  iii.  "The  Spirit  of  God,"  he  says,  "was  borne  upon 
the  water.  This  appears  to  me  to  signify,  that  some  vital 
energy  was  present  in  the  waters,  and  that  the  water  was 
not  simply  standing  and  unmoved,  but  moved  as  having 
some  vital  power.  For  that  which  is  unmoved  is  altogether 
useless ;  but  that  which  is  moved  is  serviceable  for  many 
things." 

Again :  Genesis  vi.  —  "  The  sons  of  God  saw  the  daugh- 
ters of  men."  Chrysostom,  in  his  2 2d  Homily  on  Genesis, 
observes  —  "  Your  lore  should  so  apprehend  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  Scripture,  as  not  to  lend  your  ears  to  those  who 
speak  these  blasphemies,  and  dare  to  say  things  against  their 
own  understanding:  for  they  say  that  this  is  not  said  of 
men,  but  of  angels,  for  that  God  called  these  *  the  sons  of 
God.'  Let  them  show,  first,  where  angels  are  called  the 
sons  of  God."  And  Augustine,  in  his  Questions  on  Gene- 
sis, concludes  —  "  Whence  is  it  more  credible,  that  just  men, 
who  were  called  either  angels  or  the  sons  of  God,  through 
lust  sinned  with  women,  than  that  angels,  who  were  not 
flesh,  could  have  descended  to  this  sin?"  This  opinion, 
however,  which  Chrysostom  terms  "  blasphemous,"  is  stated 
to  have  been  "  the  opinion  of  many  of  the  ancients,"  includ*- 
ing  Justin,  Athenagoras,  and  Clemens  of  Alexandria. 

In  the  interpretation  of  the  portion  of  Scripture  that 
relates  to  Rebecca,  Jerome  writes  to   Pope   Damasus  — 


■^'''''''i^mmmfKm 


220  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

"  Isaac  represents  God  the  Father,  Rebecca  the  Holy  Spirit, 
Esau  the  former  people  multiplied  by  the  devil,  Jacob  the 
Church  of  Christ.  Isaac's  growing  old  signifies  the  con- 
summation of  the  world;  that  he  grew  blind,  shows  that 
faith  before  him  perished  from  the  world,  and  that  the 
light  of  religion  had  been  neglected."  The  most  fanciful 
commentator  upon  Scripture  in  the  present  day,  never 
approached  such  an  exposition  as  this  in  puerility  and  ab- 
surdity. 

Turn  next  to  doctrine.  Jerome  says,  (Question  X.  p. 
238-3,)  —  "  The  vessels  of  mercy,  which  he  prepared  for 
glory,  which  he  called,  that  is  to  say,  us  who  are  not  from 
the  Jews,  but  also  from  the  Gentiles,  he  does  not  save  irra- 
tionally, or  without  a  true  judgment,  but  for  preceding  causes, 
because  some  have  not  received  the  Son  of  God,  and  others 
of  their  own  accord  have  received  him."  So  that  Jerome 
was  what  we  should  call  a  very  low  Arminian.  But,  says 
Augustine,  (Epist.  contra  Julianum  Pelagianum,  lib.  v.)  — 
"  Those  whom  he  predestined,  them  he  also  called.  These 
are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose.  These  are  there- 
fore elect,  and  this  before  the  constitution  of  the  world,  by 
Him  who  calleth  those  things  that  be  not  as  though  they 
were  ;  but  elect  by  the  election  of  grace.  Whence  he  says 
also  of  Israel,  a  remnant  w^as  made  by  the  election  of  grace ; 
and  lest  by  chance  they  should  be  thought  to  be  elect  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world  by  reason  of  their  foreknown 
ivorhs,  he  proceeded  and  added.  But  if  by  grace,  then  it  is 
not  of  works ;  else  grace  is  no  more  grace."  So  that  Au' 
gustine,  in  opposition  to  Jerome,  was  what  we  call  a  Calvin- 
ist.  Again,  on  works  of  supererogation,  Chrysostom,  on 
Hebrews  x.,  Homily  xix.,  thus  speaks  —  "And  besides, 
Christ  enjoins  nothing  which  is  impossible,  since  many  have 
surpassed  his  commandments. 

Abraham,  according  to  Chrysostom,  actually  fixed  the 
knife  in  his  son's  tliroat.     He  says,  (Epist.  2  ad  Cor.  Hom. 


THE   FATHERS.  221 

iii.)  —  ^*  For  the  hand  of  the  just  man  fixed  it  (the  sword) 
in  the  boy's  throat ;  but  the  hand  of  God  did  not  permit 
it,  though  fixed  in  it,  to  be  contaminated  by  the  boy's 
blood." 

Ambrose  holds,  that  we  must  all  pass  through  fire  to 
heaven.  In  his  exposition  of  Psalm  118,  (Benedictine  edi- 
tion, Paris,  1686,)  he  says  —  "  It  is  necessary,  that  all  who 
desire  to  return  to  Paradise  should  be  proved  by  fire ;  for  it 
is  not  written  unconcernedly,  that  Adam  and  Eve  being 
driven  out  of  the  seat  of  Paradise,  God  placed  a  fiery  sword 
which  turned  every  way  at  their  exit  from  Paradise.  It  is 
necessary  that  all  should  pass  through  flames.  Whether 
he  be  John  the  Evangelist,  whom  the  Lord  so  loved  that  he 
said  of  him  to  Peter,  *  If  I  will  that  he  remain,  what  is  that 
to  thee  ?  do  you  follow  me : '  some  have  doubted  respecting 
his  death,  we  cannot  doubt  respecting  his  passage  through 
the  fire,  because  he  is  in  Paradise,  and  is  not  separated  from 
Christ.  Or  whether  it  be  Peter  who  received  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  walked  on  tlie  sea,  it  is  needful 
that  he  should  say,  '  Thou  hast  laid  affliction  upon  our  loins, 
thou  hast  caused  men  to  ride  over  our  heads;  we  have 
passed  through  fire  and  water,  and  thou  hast  brought  us  into 
refrigerium.^ " 

Concerning  Cain  and  Abel,  Ambrose  thus  writes  (Lib.  ii. 
c.  3.)  — "  Wherefore  we  do  not  unconcernedly  wonder  in 
the  Gospel,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  sat  upon  the  foal  of  an  ass, 
because  the  Gentile  people,  which  according  to  the  Law  was 
accounted  unclean,  began  to  be  the  sacrifice  of  Christ." 
And  in  his  book  De  EUa  et  Jejunio,  he  says  of  Paradise, 
that  "  God  established  the  first  law  about  fasting  there  when 
he  said,  *  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil.'" 

In  his  fifth  Homily  on  Matthew,  Chrysostom  writes  as 
follows :  "  They  say  that  John  practised  such  austerity,  that 
all  his  limbs  became  dead,  and  from  continual  prayer  and 
19* 


222  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

perpetual  intercourse  witli  the  pavement,  his  forenead  was 
so  hard  as  to  be  nothing  better  than  the  knee  of  a  cameL" 
"  That  he  would  grant  to  me,  to  be  encircled  with  the  body 
of  Paul,  to  be  fastened  to  his  soul,  and  to  see  the  dust  of 
his  body."  "  To  see  the  dust  of  those  hands  by  which  all 
were  charmed,  through  the  imposition  of  which  the  Spirit 
was  supplied."  And  in  the  54th  Homily  — "If  we  are  to 
be  regenerated,  the  cross  is  present ;  if  to  be  nourished  with 
the  food,  if  to  be  ordained,  if  to  do  any  thing  else,  that 
symbol  is  present.  We  inscribe  it  on  our  houses,  walls, 
windows,  forehead." 

On  the  subject  of  the  veneration  of  relics,  Chrysostom^ 
in  his  Homily  "  delivered  after  the  relics  of  the  Martyrs, 
etc.,"  torn.  12,  p.  468,  speaks  thus:  "When  the  Empress 
had  gone,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  into  the  great  Church, 
and  borne  thence  the  relics  of  the  Martyr,  and  followed 
them  through  the  middle  of  the  forum,  when  the  church  to 
which  the  relics  belonged  was  distant  nine  miles  from  the 
city,  this  sermon  was  preached  in  the  Martyr's  Church,  the 
Empress  being  present  with  the  magistrates  and  all  the  city." 
^'  For  when  the  devils  see  the  rays  of  the  sun,  they  suffer 
nothing ;  but  unable  to  bear  the  splendor  which  proceeds 
from  these,  being  blinded,  they  fly,  and  go  to  a  great  dis- 
tance ;  so  great  is  the  power  in  the  ashes  of  the  saints,  not 
only  residing  in  their  relics,  but  proceeding  beyond  them, 
and  driving  away  unclean  spirits,  and  sanctifying  with  much 
abundance  those  who  approach  them  in  faith.  Wherefore 
she  (the  Empress)  loving  Christ,  followed  the  rehcs,  con- 
tinually touching  them,  and  drawing  to  herself  a  blessing, 
and  becoming  an  instructress  to  all,  of  this  beautiful  and 
spiritual  gain,  and  teaching  all  to  draw  from  this  fountain, 
which  is  always  drawn  from  and  never  emptier ;  for  as  the 
springing  streams  of  the  fountains  are  not  contained  within 
their  own  bosoms,  but  run  over  and  flow  forth,  so  the  grace 
of  the  Spirit,  which  reclines  in  the  bones  and  dwells  in  the 


THE   FATHERS.  223 

Baint,  also  goes  forth  to  those  who  follow  it,  and  runs  forth 
from  the  souls  to  the  bodies,  and  from  the  bodies  to  the  gar- 
ments, and  from  the  garments  to  the  sandals,  and  from  the 
sandals  to  the  shadows.  For  this  reason,  not  only  do  the 
bodies  of  the  holy  apostles  work,  but  also  the  handkerchiefs 
and  aprons ;  and  not  only  these,  but  also  the  shadow  of 
Peter  wrought  greater  things  than  the  living.  Thus  it  hap- 
pens also  at  this  day ;  for  whilst  the  relics  were  carried, 
there  was  the  burning  of  the  devils,  and  bowlings  and  lamen- 
tations were  raised  on  every  side,  the  rays  issuing  forth  from 
the  bones,  and  burning  the  phalanx  of  hostile  powers." 
"All  will  call  you  blessed,  the  hostess  of  the  saints,  the 
pattern  of  churches,  equal  in  zeal  to  the  apostles ;  for  though 
you  have  had  allotted  to  you  a  woman's  nature,  it  is  permitted 
to  you  to  rival  the  acts  of  the  apostles." 

Hear  also  Jerome  against  Vigilantius,  who,  it  appears, 
was  opposed  to  the  worship  of  relics.  Jerome  begins  by 
punning  upon  his  name.  "  Vigilantius,  or  rather  Dormi- 
tantius"  [the  sleepy  headed,  not  the  wakeful,]  " has  sud- 
denly arisen,  who,  with  an  unclean  spirit,  fights  against 
Christ,  and  denies  that  the  sepulchres  of  the  martyrs  are  to 
be  venerated."  "  Does  the  Roman  Bishop  act  wrongly,  who 
offers  sacrifices  to  the  Lord,  over  the  (according  to  us)  to  be 
venerated  bones  (but,  according  to  you,  the  vile  dust)  of 
dead  men,  Peter  and  Paul,  and  regards  their  graves  as 
altars  ?  And  not  only  does  the  bishop  of  one  city,  but  do 
the  bishops  of  the  whole  world,  err,  who,  despising  the 
huckster  Vigilantius,  enter  the  temples  of  the  dead  ?  "  "  Ter- 
tuUian,  a  most  learned  man,  wrote  a  celebrated  volume 
against  your  heresy."  "  You  laugh  at  the  relics  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, and  with  Eunonimous,  the  author  of  this  heresy,  calum- 
niate the  Church  of  Christ."  "  Was  the  Emperor  Constan- 
tine  sacrilegious,  who  translated  the  relics  of  Andrew,  Luke, 
and  Timothy,  at  which  the  devils  roar,  to  Constantinople  ? 
and  those  who  dwell  m  Vigilantius  confess  that  they  per- 


224  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

ceive  their  presence?  Is  Augustus  Arcadius  now  to  be 
called  sacrilegious,  who  transferred  the  bones  of  the  blessed 
Samuel,  after  a  long  period,  from  Judea  into  Thrace  ?  Are 
all  the  bishops  to  be  deemed,  not  only  sacrilegious,  but  fools, 
who  carried  a  most  vile  thing  and  mouldering  ashes  in  silk 
and  a  golden  vessel  ?  Are  the  people  of  all  the  Churches 
foolish,  who  met  the  sacred  relics,  and  with  such  joy  received 
them,  as  if  they  beheld  the  prophet  present  and  living,  so 
that  swarms  of  people  were  united  from  Palestine  to  Chal- 
cedon,  and  with  one  voice  resounded  the  praise  of  Christ  ?  " 
"  They  follow  the  Lamb  wherever  he  goes ;  if  the  Lamb  is 
everywhere,  these  also,  who  are  with  the  Lamb,  are  to  be 
believed  to  be  everywhere." 

Ambrose  has  the  following  passage,  on  the  burying  of  the 
bodies  of  the  martyrs,  Gervasius  and  Protasius.  I  quote 
from  Epistle  xxii.  chap.  1,  Benedictine  Edition,  Paris,  1690, 
p.  875.  "  The  heavens,"  he  says,  "  declare  the  glory  of 
God.  At  his  day,  by  this  fortuitous  reading,  it  has  been 
made  known  what  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God.  Be- 
hold at  my  right  hand,  behold  at  my  left  hand  the  sacred 
relics ;  behold  the  men  of  heavenly  conversation ;  behold 
the  trophies  of  a  sublime  mind:  these  are  *the  heavens,' 
which  '  declare  the  glory  of  God/  And  now  you  hear  the 
devils  crying  out,  and  confessing  to  the  martyrs  that  they 
cannot  bear  their  pains,  and  saying.  Why  have  you  come  to 
torment  us  so  grievously  ?  " 

Chrysostom,  (tom.  xii.  p.  177,  in  Epist.  ad  Hebr.  c.  vii. 
Horn,  xii.)  —  "  Wherefore,  I  said,  so  that  he  should  not  hurt 
oxir  freewill.  It  rests  with  us,  therefore,  and  with  him. 
For  it  is  needful  that  we  should  first  elect  good  things  ;  and 
when  we  have  elected,  he  also  adds  what  are  his.  He  does 
not  go  before  our  will,  lest  he  should  destroy  our  freewill ; 
but  when  we  have  elected,  then  he  brings  to  us  much  help." 

Let  me  give  an  instance  or  two  from  Augustine's  Retrac- 
tations.    C.  xxiii. :  "  When  I  was  still  a  priest,  it  happened 


THE   FATHERS.  225 

that  at  Carthage,  among  us  who  were  together,  the  apostle's 
letter  to  the  Romans  was  read  —  ^  I  know  that  the  law  is 
spiritual,  but  I  am  carnal : '  which  I  was  not  willing  to  re- 
ceive of  the  person  of  the  apostle,  who  was  already  spiritual, 
but  of  a  man  under  the  law,  and  not  yet  under  grace,  for 
thus  formerly  I  understood  those  words.  Which  afterwards, 
having  read  some  commentators  on  the  Divine  Word,  whose 
authority  moved  me,  /  more  diligently  considered,  and  saw 
that  that  which  he  says  might  even  be  understood  of  the 
apostle  himself,  viz.  *  We  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual,  but 
I  am  carnal.'  Which  I  showed,  as  well  as  I  could,  in  the 
books  which  I  lately  wrote  against  the  Pelagians."  Again, 
tom.  i.  book  2,  c.  v. :  "  Now,  there  are  two  books  of  mine, 
of  which  the  title  is, '  Against  the  Party  of  Donatus ; '  in  the 
first  of  which  books  I  have  said,  that  it  did  not  please  me, 
that  schismatics  should  be  violently  driven  to  communion  by 
the  force  of  any  secular  power ;  and  truly  it  did  not  please 
me,  since  I  had  not  yet  experienced  how  much  evil  their 
impunity  dared,  or  how  much  a  diligent  discipline  coul(J 
confer  upon  them  in  changing  them  for  the  better."  Lib.  2, 
c.  xvii. :  "  When  I  said  in  the  Fourth  Book,  that  suffering 
might  be  substituted  for  baptism,  I  adduced  the  example  of 
that  thief,  which  was  not  sufficiently  apposite,  since  it  is  un- 
certain whether  he  was  not  baptized."  Chap.  Iv.  p.  117: 
"  Concerning  also  the  thief,  to  whom  it  was  said,  '  To-day 
thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise,'  I  have  laid  it  down  as 
nearly  certain,  that  he  was  not  visibly  baptized ;  whereas  it 
is  uncertain,  and  it  is  rather  to  be  believed  that  he  was  bap- 
tized, as  I  have  also  afterward  elsewhere  contended." 

I  proceed  next  to  show  you,  how  the  fathers  themselves 
condemn  one  another's  errors  and  absurdities.  Chrysostom 
says  — "  Wlio  can  tolerate  Origen,  when  he  says  that  the 
souls  were  angels  in  heaven,  and  that  after  they  sinned 
above,  they  were  cast  down  into  the  world,  and  were  con- 
fined in  these  bodies  as  in  graves  and  sepulchres,  in  order 


226  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

that  they  might  pay  the  penalty  of  their  former  sins  ?  and 
that  the  bodies  of  believers  are  not  the  temples  of  Christ,  but 
prisons  of  the  condemned  ?  "  "I  pass  over  his  frivolous  ex- 
position of  the  garments  of  skins ;  with  what  effort  and  argu- 
ments has  he  striven  to  make  us  believe,  that  the  coats  of 
skins  were  human  bodies  ! "  "  And  who  can  bear  Origen 
with  patience,  when  he  denies,  with  specious  arguments,  the 
resurrection  of  this  flesh,  as  he  most  clearly  declares  in  the 
book  of  his  Explanation  of  the  First  Psalm,  and  in  many 
other  places  ?  And  who  can  bear  Origen  giving  to  us  a 
paradise  in  the  third  heaven,  and  transferring  to  heavenly 
places  that  paradise  which  the  Scripture  describes  as  belong- 
ing to  the  earth ;  and  so  allegorically  understanding  all  the 
trees,  which  are  described  in  Genesis,  as  that  the  trees  were 
angelic  powers  ?  And  who  will  not  instantly  cast  away  and 
despise  those  fallacies,  when  Origen  said  of  the  waters  which 
are  above  the  firmament,  that  they  were  not  waters,  but 
certain  forces  of  heavenly  power ;  and  that  the  waters,  again, 
which  are  over  the  earth,  that  is  to  say,  under  the  firma- 
ment, were  contrary  powers,  that  is  to  say,  demons  ?  "  "  The 
words  of  Origen  are  adverse  and  hateful,  and  repugnant  to 
God  and  his  saints ;  and  not  those  only  which  I  have  re- 
peated, but  numberless  others  also."  Jerome,  also,  writing 
to  Pammachius,  exclaims  —  "  Depart,  O  most  beloved,  from 
Origen's  heresy,  and  from  all  other  heresies."  "Origen 
teaches,  that  rational  creatures  gradually  descend  by  Jacob's 
ladder  to  the  last  step,  that  is  to  say,  to  flesh  and  blood ; 
and  that  it  is  impossible  that  any  one  should  at  once  be  pre- 
cipitated from  the  hundredth  to  the  first  number,  but  by 
single  numbers,  as  by  the  steps  of  a  ladder,  until  he  reach 
the  last ;  and  that  they  changed  their  bodies  as  often  as  they 
changed  mansions  [in  their  way]  from  heaven  to  earth." 
And  against  Vigilantius,  letter  79,  Jerome  says  again  — 
"  Origen  is  a  heretic  :  what  is  that  to  me,  who  do  not  deny 
that  he  is  a  heretic  in  most  things  ?     He  erred  concerning 


THE   FATHERS.  227 

the  resurrection  of  the  body,  concerning  the  state  of  souls, 
concerning  the  repentance  of  the  devil ;  and  what  is  more, 
in  his  Commentaries  on  Isaiah,  he  testified  that  the  Son  of 
God,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  seraphim." 

Of  Tertullian,  Jerome  writes  (to  Pammachjus  and  Ocea- 
nus)  —  "  The  blessed  Cyprian  uses  Tertullian  as  a  master, 
as  his  writings  prove  :  and  although  he  is  delighted  with  the 
genius  of  that  erudite  and  ardent  man,  he  does  not,  with 
him,  follow  Montanus  and  Maximilla."  Of  Lactantius  and 
Origen  —  "  Lactantius  in  his  books,  and  chiefly  in  his  Let- 
ters to  Demetrian,  altogether  denies  the  substance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  with  the  Jewish  error  says,  that  he  is  to  be 
referred  either  to  the  Father  or  the  Son,  and  that  the  sanc- 
tiiication  of  each  of  these  persons  is  exhibited  under  his 
name."  "  And  confess  also,  that  Origen  errs  in  some  things ; 
acknowledge  that  he  thought  wrongly  concerning  the  Son, 
and  worse  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  he  impiously 
brought  forward  the  [doctrine  of  the]  ruin  of  the  souls  from 
heaven ;  that  he  only  verbally  confesses  the  resurrection  of 
the  flesh,  but  virtually  destroys  it ;  and  that  he  holds,  that 
after  many  ages  and  the  final  restitution  of  all  things,  Ga- 
briel would  be  the  same  as  the  devil,  Paul  as  Caiaphas,  vir- 
gins as  harlots."  "  Others,  as  well  Greeks  as  Latins,  have 
erred  in  the  faith." 

A  few  extracts  from  Dupin's  History  of  the  Fourth  and 
Fifth  Centuries  will  show  you  the  estimate  of  the  fathers 
formed  by  that  distinguished  and  generally  impartial  Roman 
Catholic  historian.  Concerning  Eusebius  of  Ca3sarea :  "  He 
seems  to  insinuate,  in  some  places,  and  chiefly  book  ii.  c.  7, 
that  the  person  of  the  Son  is  not  equal  to  the  person  of  the 
Father,  and  that  the  same  adoration  is  not  due  to  him ;  and 
it  is  not  only  in  these  books  that  he  speaks  after  this  man- 
ner, for  he  does  the  like  in  all  his  other  writings."  Of  St. 
Hilary :  "  St.  Hilary  had  not  very  clear  notions  concerning 
spiritual  beings,  for  in  the  Fifth  Canon  of  his  Commentary 


228  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

upon  St.  Mattliew,  he  says,  that  all  creatures  are  corporeal, 
and  that  the  souls  which  are  in  bodies  are  corporeal  sub- 
stances. He  held  also  an  intolerable  error  concerning  the 
last  judgment.  I  do  not  insist  upon  some  smaller  errors ;  as 
when  in  Canon  31  and  32  on  St.  Matthew,  he  excuses  the 
sin  of  St.  Peter;  when  he  says,  in  Canon  16,  that  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ,  '  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,'  were 
not  addressed  to  this  apostle;  upon  Psalm  119,  that  the. 
Virgin  should  be  purged  by  fire  at  the  day  of  judgment ;  in 
Canon  20,  that  Moses  did  not  die,  and  that  he  shall  come 
again  at  the  day  of  judgment."  Of  Gregory  Nyssen :  "  He 
is  always  abstruse,  either  by  allegories  or  abstracted  reason- 
ings ;  he  mingles  philosophy  with  divinity,  and  makes  use 
of  the  principles  of  philosophers,  both  in  his  explications  of 
mysteries  and  in  his  discourses  of  morality :  upon  which 
account  his  works  are  more  like  the  treatises  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle,  than  those  of  other  Christians."  "  It  may  be  said 
also,  that  St.  Gregory  Nyssen,  having  his  head  full  of  the 
books  and  principles  of  Origen,  could  not  always  be  so  care- 
ful, but  some  of  his  errors  would  slip  unawares  into  his 
reasonings,  though  he  was  not  really  of  his  opinion,  and  he 
rejected  them  at  other  times  when  he  w^as  more  attentive." 
Of  Epiphanius,  Dupin  says  —  "The  style  of  St.  Epipha- 
nius  is  neither  beautiful  nor  lofty ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
plain,  low,  and  mean.  He  had  much  reading  and  learning, 
but  no  faculty  of  discerning,  nor  exactness  of  judgment. 
He  often  uses  reasons  for  refuting  the  heretics,  which  are 
false.  He  was  very  credulous,  and  not  very  accurate." 
And  of  Jerome :  "  In  St.  Jerome's  Commentaries,  there  are 
also  several  opinions  that  savor  of  Jewish  superstitions,  or 
the  too  great  credulity  of  the  first  Christians ;  as  when  he 
asserts,  in  the  Commentaries  on  the  Prophets  Daniel  and 
Micah,  that  the  world  shall  last  but  a  thousand  years.  He 
sometimes  gives  allegorical  senses  to  things  which  are  to  be 
understood  literally ;  as  when,  in  the  Commentary  on  the 


THE    FATHERS.  229 

Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  he  says,  that  Jacob's  wrestling  with 
the  angel  is  not  to  be  understood  of  a  corporeal  and  visible 
combat,  but  mystically  of  the  invisible  fight."  "  When  he 
disputes  with  Helodius,  he  commends  virginity  to  that 
excess,  that  it  was  thought  he  designed  to  condemn  matri- 
mony ;  and  he  so  exalts  the  dignity  of  priests  in  abating  the 
pride  of  deacons,  that  he  seems  not  to  think  them  inferior 
to  bishops." 

Let  us  hear  Erasmus  also  upon  this  topic.  I  quote  from 
Jacobo  Sadoleto,  lib.  28.  Erasmus  says  —  "Tertullian^ 
whilst  he  too  sharply  contends  with  threats  against  those 
who  ascribe  too  much  to  matrimony,  was  carried  into  the 
other  fit,  condemning  what  Christ  approved  of,  and  exacting, 
what  Christ  did  not  require,  but  only  counselled.  Jerome 
fights  with  so  much  ardor  against  those  who  exalted  matri- 
mony to  the  injury  of  virginity,  that  he  could  not  have 
defended  his  cause  against  an  unfavorable  judge,  if  he  had 
been  deemed  guilty  of  having  treated  marriage,  and  second 
marriage,  with  too  little  respect.  Augustine,  fighting  with 
all  his  energy  against  Pelagius,  sometimes  attributes  less  to 
freewill  than  the  theologians  who  now  reign  in  the  schools 
think  right."  "  If  these  things  are  to  be  wrested  against 
him  who  sometimes  errs,  what  shall  we  do  to  the  same- 
Hilary  (besides  so  many  other  distinguished  doctors  of  the 
Church),  who,  in  so  many  places,  seems  to  feel  that  Christ, 
had  a  body  which  was  not  susceptible  of  pain,  and  that 
hunger,  thirst,  weariness,  and  other  affections  of  this  kind^ 
were  not  natural  in  him,  but  pretended?  For  this  he 
plainly  wrote  in  expounding  the  68th  Psalm."  Again: 
Erasmus  writes,  (26th  book  of  Letters,)  — "Jerome  differed 
from  Ambrose  and  Cyprian;  there  was  not  a  slight  skir* 
mishing  between  him  and  Augustine ;  and  who  is  there  of 
the  ancients  from  whom  the  more  recent  theologians  do  not 
differ  in  many  places  ?  " 

The  CORRUPTIONS  of  the  writmgs  of  the  fathers  is  » 
20 


230  THE   GEEAT   APOSTASY. 

topic  I  must  not  pass  over.  Erasmus  writes,  in  his  Epis- 
tles, (In  Sanct.  Basilii  librum  de  Spiritu  Sancto,)  "I  ap- 
peared to  myself  to  have  detected,  in  this  work,  what  we 
behold  with  indignation  to  have  been  done  in  certain  of  the 
most  celebrated  and  extolled  writers,  as  in  Athanasius, 
Chrysostom,  and  Jerome.  You  ask,  What  is  this  ?  After 
I  had  gone  through  half  of  the  work  without  weariness,  the 
phraseology  appeared  to  me  to  belong  to  another  parent, 
and  to  breathe  a  different  genius;  sometimes  the  diction 
swelled  out  to  the  tragic  style,  and  it  subsided  again  into 
common  discourse;  sometimes  it  appeared  to  me  to  have 

something  flowing  softly From  these  circumstances 

a  suspicion  entered  my  mind,  that  some  student,  in  order  to 
render  the  volume  more  copious,  had  interwoven  some 
things,  either  grafts  culled  from  other  authors  (for  this  sub- 
ject has  been  accurately  handled  by  many  of  the  Greeks), 
or  devised  by  himself;  for  some  of  these  are  erudite,  but 

differing  from  Basil's  style Moreover,  it  is  a  most 

wdcked  species  of  contamination  to  interweave  one's  own 
cloth  with  most  distinguished  purple  of  celebrated  men ;  or, 
to  express  myself  more  correctly,  to  corrupt  their  generous 
wine  with  one's  own  dead  stuff;  which  has  been  done,  with 
intolerable  sacrilege,  in  the  divine  Jerome's  Commentaries 
on  the  Psalms,  so  evidently  that  it  cannot  be  denied."  And 
again,  quoting  still  from  Erasmus,  (In  Hilarium  Epist.  lib. 
28,)"— "What  is  this  temerity  with  other  people's  books, 
especially  those  of  the  ancients,  whose  memory  is  or  ought 

to  be  sacred  to  us that  every  one,  according  to  his 

fancy,  should  shave,  expunge,  add,  take  away,  change,  sub- 
stitute ?  "  And  once  more,  (In  Athan.  Epist.  ad  Serapionem 
de  Spiritu  Sancto,)  — "We  have  given  some  fragments  of  this 
sort.  For  what  purpose  ?  you  will  say.  That  it  may  hence 
appear  with  what  impiety  the  Greek  scribes  have  raged 
against  the  monuments  of  such  men,  in  which  even  to 
change  a  syllable  is  sacrilege.    And  what  has  not  the  same 


THE   FATHERS.  231 

temerity  dared  to  do  among  the  Latins,  in  substituting, 
mutilating,  increasing,  and  contaminating  the  commentaries 
of  the  orthodox  ?  " 

A  multitude  of  works,  it  seems,  have  been  falsely  ascribed 
to  Chi'ysostom.  In  the  Benedictine  edition  of  that  father, 
torn.  V.  p.  672,  (Paris,  1836,)  in  the  admonition  to  the 
Homily  on  the  Fifteenth  Psalm,  we  read  —  "  John  Chry- 
sostom  was  so  highly  esteemed  by  the  Greeks,  that  his 
works  and  small  treatises  were  sought  with  the  greatest 
eagerness ;  and  whatever  bore  the  name  of  Chrysostom  was 
held  as  genuine  by  men  not  endowed  with  critical  knowl- 
edge, such  as  were  almost  all  those  of  the  later  ages.  There 
were  persons  who  rashly  embellished  with  the  name  of 
Chrysostom  sermons  and  homilies  written  by  themselves. 
Transcribers  of  books  also,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  sold  homi- 
lies patched  together  by  themselves  or  others,  with  the 
name  of  Chrysostom  in  the  title-page.  Hence  proceeded 
innumerable  spurious  works ;  of  which  some  immediately 
supply  the  evidences  of  spuriousness,  others  require  a  fuller 
investigation." 

Doubts,  also,  are  felt  about  Basil's  works,  as  may  be  seen 
by  the  Benedictine  Preface  (Paris,  1721).  "It  remained 
that  I  should  separate  the  true  works  of  Basil  from  the  false 
ones  ;  which  separation  revealed  a  labor  of  the  most  exten- 
sive kind,  since  there  are  not  a  few  of  his  writings  that  are 
called  in  question,  but  all  of  them.  The  learned,  indeed, 
differ  among  themselves  respecting  the  number  of  the  hom- 
ilies on  *  the  six  days'  work,'  and  the  Psalms.  These 
one-and-thirty  Orations  are  not  all  ascribed  to  one  and  the 
same  writer.  The  two  books  which  we  have  on  baptism 
are  held  to  be  doubtful  by  some  persons.  The  book  on  true 
virginity  is  controverted.  That  most  ample  book  on  the  first 
sixteen  chapters  of  Isaiah  is  not  exempt  from  all  suspicion. 
The  opinion  of  all  persons  is  not  one  respecting  the  five 
books  against  Eunomius.     There  are  those  who  have  not 


232  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

been  ashamed  to  place  among  the  false  and  supposititious 
the  last  fifteen  chapters,  and  those  the  principal  chapters,  of 
the  book  on  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  opinions  of  the  ancients 
and  more  modern  concerning  his  ascetic  writings  do  not 
agree.  Hardly  any  thing  certain  can  be  defined  respecting 
the  liturgy.  His  epistles  contain,  as  it  were,  a  sort  of  sem- 
inary of  quarrels  and  discords.  For  in  what  year,  in  what 
month,  from  whom  to  whom,  respecting  what  subject,  they 
were  written,  is  daily,  vehemently,  and  sharply  disputed. 
All  must  perceive,  I  think,  how  easy  it  is  to  err  in  this  so 
great  variety  of  things  and  opinions,  as  in  a  moonless  night." 
Again,  p.  48  :  "I  have  in  a  certain  place  admonished  you, 
that  that  commentary  on  the  first  sixteen  chapters  of  Isaiah, 
although  it  is  held  by  almost  all  to  be  the  genuine  offspring 
of  Basil,  is  not  exempt  from  all  suspicion  :  you  will  find, 
indeed,  very  few  who  deny  it,  if  you  compare  them  with 
those  who  afiirm  the  commentary  to  be  truly  Basil's.  For^ 
among  the  latter,  you  may  reckon  Maximus  the  Confessor, 
John  of  Damascus,  Marasius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
etc.  Nor  is  it  wonderful  if  the  more  modern,  after  the 
example  of  the  ancients,  have  embraced  the  same  opinion. 
The  most  celebrated  of  these,  Taliman,  Ducas,  Cambeficius, 
Natalis  Alexander,  Dupin,  Tillemont,  and  Lequier,  to  whose 
opinion,  unless  most  serious  reasons  hindered  me,  I  should 
always  be  proud  to  accede.  It  is  more  easy  to  enumerate 
the  patrons  of  the  other  opinion,  since  we  find  only  three  or 
four ;  John  Drungar,  Erasmus,  E-ivetus,  Petavius.  But  I 
am  so  far,  therefore,  from  ascribing  that  imperfect  com- 
mentary to  St.  Basil,  that  I  deem  it  to  be  most  unworthy  of 
him.  I  have  perused  and  reperused  the  work,  nor  have  I 
ever  found  any  thing  Basilian.  Every  thing  has  a  foreign 
odor ;  whatever  all  the  most  erudite  admire  in  the  writings 
of  Basil  —  perspicuity  of  speech,  eloquence,  a  certain  won- 
derful facility  in  interpreting  Scripture,  the  selection  of  the 
best  words,  weighty  opinions  —  of  these  not  even  a  vestige 
exists  in  these  commentaries." 


THE   FATHERS.  233" 

Of  the  falsifications  of  the  works  of  the  fathers  generally, 
we  read  in  the  same  preface  — "  It  is  difficult  to  say  how 
great  diligence  must  be  applied  by  him,  who  wishes  cer- 
tainly and  safely  to  decide  respecting  the  spuriousness  or 
genuineness  of  any  work :  for  it  is  wonderful,  since  truth 
and  falsehood  so  greatly  differ,  yet  one  very  frequently 
60  much  resembles  the  other,  that  in  distinguishing  be- 
tween them,  we  can  scarcely  avoid  error,  unless  we  take 
great  care."  And,  again :  "  Perhaps  there  is  no  class  of 
men  who  have  more  injured  good  study,  than  those  who 
have  mixed  up  the  true  writings  of  the  fathers  with  false 
ones.  For  how  many  evils  have,  both  formerly  and  in  the 
present  day,  sprung  up  from  hence,  nobody  who  is  not  alto- 
gether inexperienced  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  is  ignorant ; 
doctrines  are  obscured,  morals  are  polluted,  history  falters, 
tradition  is  disturbed  ;  and  to  express  my  meaning  in  a  word, 
if  once  the  genuine  writings  of  the  holy  fathers  are  con- 
founded with  the  adulterous  ones,  all  things  must  necessarily 
be  confounded  together.  The  examples  of  what  I  have 
stated  are  too  frequent  for  it  to  be  necessary  for  me  to  men- 
tion any  of  them.  I  will  only  call  to  mind  the  imprudence 
of  the  ApoUinarists  and  the  Eutychians,  who,  when  they 
had  promulgated  their  own  for  the  sincere  and  true  writings 
of  the  holy  fathers,  so  infected  the  whole  Church,  that  even 
until  this  present  day,  it  has  been  impossible  to  close  and 
cure  this  kind  of  wound.  For,  at  the  present  day,  so  great 
is  the  disagreement  among  the  erudite  respecting  the  author- 
ship of  certain  writers,  that  if  any  one  adduces  any  evidence 
either  of  that  great  Athanasius,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  or  of 
Julius,  the  high  Pontiff,  or  of  Gregory,  the  wonder-worker, 
immediately  you  will  hear  some  say  that  Athanasius,  Juhus, 
Gregory,  did  not  say  these  things,  but  Apollinarius,  some  of 
whose  works  were  formerly  deceitfully  attributed  to  these 
great  men,  in  order  that  the  more  simple  might  be  led 
astray.  But,  to  be  now  silent  respecting  the  ApoUinarists 
20* 


234  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

and  Entycliians,  I  will  generally  observe,  that  innumerable 
inconveniences  flowed  from  the  same  fountain." 

So  difficult,  or  rather  impossible,  is  it,  to  ascertain  the  true 
works  of  the  fathers.  When  we  do  reach  them,  then,  from 
the  specimens  and  examples  I  have  laid  before  you,  I  ven- 
ture to  assert,  that  every  dispassionate  judge  must  come  to 
the  conclusion,  that  they  are  not  competent  expounders  of 
Holy  Writ,  but  contradict  one  another,  and  propose  com- 
ments so  superstitious  and  fanatical,  that,  in  some  instances, 
we  might  as  well  go  to  Johanna  Southcote,  or  to  the  wildest 
interpreters  of  the  last  or  the  present  age. 

I  do  not  mean  to  deny,  that  there  are  some  beautiful  and 
scriptural,  and  truly  Protestant  statements  to  be  found  in  the 
fathers,  or  the  good  cannot  be  separated  from  the  bad.  It 
is  but  fair  that  I  should  present  some  evidence  of  this. 
Three  or  four  extracts  will  illustrate  my  meaning;  and 
with  them  I  will  conclude  this  part  of  the  subject. 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  Oratio  42.  vii.  —  "  But  you  contained 
walls,  and  tablets,  and  elegantly  cut  stones,  and  long  circuit- 
ous passages ;  and  you  were  resplendent  on  every  side  with 
^gold,  and  you  scattered  it  as  water,  and  treasured  it  up  as 
the  sand ;  being  ignorant  that  faith  in  the  open  air  is  better 
than  sumptuous  impiety,  and  that  a  few  gathered  together 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  are  more  in  the  estimation  of  God 
than  many  thousands  who  deny  the  godhead.  Whether  truly 
will  you  prefer  all  the  Canaanites  to  one  Abraham ;  or  the 
inhabitants  of  Sodom  to  one  Lot;  or  the  Midianites  to 
Moses  —  to  those  who  were  sojourners  and  foreigners  ? 
Will  you  prefer  to  the  three  hundred  who  nobly  drank  with 
Gideon,  the  thousands  who  turned  away ;  or  to  those  born 
in  the  house  of  Abraham,  who  were  scarcely  more  in  num- 
ber than  these,  many  kings,  and  the  ten  thousands  of  the 
army,  whom,  though  they  were  few,  they  pursued  and  put 
to  flight?  But  how  do  you  understand  this  passage-— 
*  Although  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  were  as  the 


THE   FATHERS.  235 

sand  of  the  sea,  a  remnant  should  be  saved  ? '  And  how  the 
following  —  ^  I  have  left  to  myself  seven  thousand  men  who 
have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal  V  Is  it  not,  God  is  not 
well  pleased  with  the  many  ?  You  reckon  up  the  tens  of 
thousands,  but  God  reckons  the  saved ;  you  indeed  [reckon] 
the  innumerable  dust,  but  I  [reckon]  the  vessels  of  election. 
For  nothing  is  so  magnificent  to  God  as  pure  language 
and  a  soul  perfect  in  the  doctrines  of  truth." 

Basil.  "  But  whether  the  bishops  are  ejected  from  their 
churches,  let  not  this  at  all  move  you ;  or  whether  any  be- 
trayers have  proceeded  from  the  clergy  themselves,  let  not 
this  weaken  your  faith  in  God.  For  they  are  not  names 
which  save  us,  but  our  purpose,  and  a  true  love  towards 
him  who  created  us.  Consider,  that  in  the  conspiracy 
against  our  Lord  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  and  elders 
prepared  the  deceit,  but  there  were  found  a  few  among  the 
people  who  truly  received  the  word ;  and  that  it  is  not  the 
multitude  which  is  saved,  but  the  elect  of  God.  Let  not, 
therefore,  the  multitude  of  the  people  terrify  you,  who  are 
carried  about  like  the  water  of  the  sea  by  the  winds ;  for  if 
ever  one  be  saved,  like  Lot  in  Sodom,  he  ought  to  remain  in 
a  right  judgment,  having  an  immovable  hope  in  Christ, 
because  the  Lord  will  not  desert  his  saints." 

Augustine  to  Jerome,  torn.  ii.  p.  551.  "  For  I  confess  to 
your  charity,  that  I  have  learned  to  ascribe  only  to  the 
books  of  the  Scriptures,  which  are  now  called  canonical, 
such  fear  and  honor  as  to  believe  that  not  one  of  their 
authors  erred  in  any  thing ;  and  if  I  should  stumble  at  any 
thing  in  them  which  appears  to  be  opposed  to  truth,  I  should 
not  doubt,  either  that  the  manuscript  was  fallacious,  or  that 
the  interpreter  had  not  followed  what  was  said,  or  that  I 
had  not  at  all  understood  it.  But  I  read  the  others  in  such 
wise,  that,  however  they  may  excel  in  sanctity  and  doctrine, 
I  do  not  think  a  thing  true  because  they  have  been  of  that 
opinion,  but  because  they  have  been  able  to  persuade  me, 


236  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

either  by  tliose  canonical  authors,  or  by  a  probable  reason 
which  is  not  abhorrent  from  the  truth.  Nor  do  I  think  that 
you,  O  my  brother,  think  at  all  otherwise ;  I  do  not  believe 
that  you  desire  at  all  that  your  books  should  be  read  like 
those  of  the  prophets  and  apostles  concerning  whose  writ- 
ings it  is  wicked  to  doubt  that  they  are  exempt  from  error. 
Far  be  this  from  your  pious  humility  and  your  correct 
thoughts  of  yourself." 

Jerome.  (Letter  to  Pammachius  and  Oceanus  on  Ori- 
gen's  errors.)  "  For  what  folly  it  is,  so  to  praise  any  one's 
doctrine,  as  to  follow  his  blasphemy!  Even  the  blessed 
Cyprian  uses  Tertullian  as  his  master,  as  his  writings  prove ; 
and  although  he  is  pleased  with  the  understanding  of  that 
erudite  and  ardent  man,  he  does  not  follow  with  him  Mon- 
tanus  and  Maximilla.  Apollinarius  wrote  very  strong 
books  against  Porphyry ;  Eusebius  ably  composed  an  eccle- 
siastical history:  one  of  them  introduced  a  divided  Chris- 
tian system,  the  other  was  a  most  open  defender  of  the 
impiety  of  Arius." 

Jerome  on  Lactantius's  heresy.  "An  apostle  teaches, 
'reading  all  things,  holding  fast  those  things  which  are 
good.'  Lactantius  in  his  books,  and  especially  in  his  Epis- 
tles to  Demetrian,  altogether  denies  the  substance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  with  the  Jewish  error,  says,  that  he  is  to 
be  referred  either  to  the  Father  or  to  the  Son,  and  that  the 
sanctification  of  each  person  is  shown  under  his  name. 
"Who  can  forbid  me  to  read  his  books  of  Institutions,  in 
which  he  wrote  most  forcibly  against  the  Gentiles,  because 
his  former  opinion  is  worthy  of  detestation  ?  " 

Jerome.  (Apology  against  RufRnus.)  "  Forasmuch  as 
you  are  fickle,  you  have  argued  with  wonderful  acuteness  in 
my  praise  and  dispraise ;  and  [you  hold]  that  you  have  as 
much  right  to  speak  favorably  or  unfavorably  of  me,  as  1 
had  to  censure  Origen  and  Didymus,  whom  I  formerly  had 
praised.    Learn,  therefore,  O  most  learned  man,  and  the 


THE   FATHERS.  237 

head  of  the  Roman  art  of  logic,  that  it  is  no  fault  to  praise 
the  same  man  in  some  things  and  to  accuse  him  in  others, 
but  to  praise  and  condemn  the  same  thing.  In  Tertullian, 
we  praise  his  genius,  but  we  condemn  his  heresy ;  in  Origen 
we  admire  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  yet  we  do 
not  receive  the  fallacy  of  his  doctrines;  in  Didymus,  we 
acknowledge  both  his  memory  and  his  purity  on  the  faith  of 
the  Trinity,  but  in  other  things,  in  which  he  wrongly  trusted 
to  Origen,  we  withdraw  from  him.  For  not  the  vices,  but 
the  virtues  of  masters  are  to  be  imitated." 


[238] 


LECTURE    IX, 


THE   NICEXE    CHURCH. 


The  Nicene  Church  is  the  Tractarian  ideal  of  a  Church. 

The  importance  of  our  considering  this  subject  will 
appear  at  once  from  the  following  fact.  The  Reformers  — 
Luther,  and  Ridley,  and  Cranmer,  and  Knox,  and  all  that 
followed  them  —  took  the  Apostolic  Church,  as  embodied  in 
the  apostolic  writings,  as  the  only  model  and  the  perfect 
standard  of  a  visible  church :  but  the  Tractarian  writers, 
and  those  that  follow  them,  hold  that  this  is  not  the  proper 
model  of  a  Christian  church,  —  that  the  Reformers  did 
wrong  in  this  respect,  that  the  true  exemplar  of  a  Church 
is  that  embodied  in  the  first  three  or  four  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era,  and  that  those  who  wish  to  bring  the  Church 
of  England  up  to  the  standard  of  perfection,  should  seek  to 
make  her  approximate  to  the  Church  of  Chrysos-tom,  of 
Augustine,  of  Jerome,  or,  in  other  words,  of  the  fourth 
century,  the  period  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  who  met  a.  d. 
325.  Now  I  maintain,  that  in  the  Nicene  Church  there 
was  more  of  open  error,  of  intolerance,  violence,  and  dis- 
order —  its  bishops  being  mailed  barons  rather  than  mitred 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  its  temples  scenes  of  outrage 
rather  than  sanctuaries  of  peace  —  than  in  the  worst  state 
of  the  Protestant  Church,  from  the  days  of  Luther  to  the 
present  hour ;  and  that  the  Nicene  Church  instead  of  pre- 
senting a  model  for  our  imitation,  appears  rather  as  a 
beacon  to  warn  us  off  the  rocks  and  shoals  on  which  ita 
pilots  made  shipwreck.     If  you  listen  to  Mr.  Palmer,  Dr 


THE   NICENE    CHURCH.  239 

Pusej,  or  Dr.  Hook,  you  would  suppose  that  the  Nicene 
Church  —  that  is,  the  Church  that  existed  about  the  year 
325  —  was  a  perfect  millennium ;  that  it  was  an  epoch  of 
harmony  and  beauty ;  and  that  nothing ^s  requisite  for  a 
jarring  and  discordant  world,  but  to  stereotype  the  Nicene 
Church,  and  fix  it  by  Act  of  Parliament  and  sentence  of 
Convocation  in  England  for  ever.  I  maintain,  that  the 
greatest  calamity  that  could  overtake  our  father-land,  would 
be  the  expulsion  of  the  Church  embodied  in. the  writings  of 
the  apostles,  and  the  introduction  of  the  Church  repre- 
sented in  the  writings  and  polity  of  the  Nicene  age.  I  will 
give  you  a  few  proofs  and  illustrations  of  my  statement. 

I  take,  first  of  all,  from  Dupin's  Ecclesiastical  History,  an 
account  of  Councils  that  met  at  this  period.  He  states,  that 
in  the  year  322,  Alexander,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  held  a 
council  of  nearly  a  hundred  Egyptian  bishops,  who  con- 
demned Arius  —  the  head  of  the  Arian  heresy.  In  the 
next  year,  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  and  the  other  bishops 
who  protected  Arius,  held  a  council  in  Bithynia,  wherein 
they  declared  Arius  orthodox.  In  324,  Hosius  held  a  coun- 
cil at  Alexandria ;  he  did  what  he  could  to  reconcile  men's 
minds,  and  not  being  able  to  compass  his  designs,  would 
decide  nothing.  In  325,  the  Council  of  Nice  was  held,  and 
decided  in  favor  of  orthodoxy.  In  335,  the  Council  of  Tyre 
was  held,  at  which  there  were  sixty  eastern  bishops  ;  Athan- 
asius,  the  author  of  the  Athanasian  Creed,  came  with  forty 
Egyptian  bishops,  but  he  was  forced  to  appear  as  a  criminal, 
and  the  synod  pronounced  against  him  a  sentence  of  depo- 
sition. In  335  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  received  Arius 
and  his  party,  and  were  satisfied  of  his  orthodoxy.  In  338, 
Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  (who  had  a  mind  to  usurp  the  see 
of  Alexandria,)  and  the  bishops  of  his  party,  being  enemies 
to  Paul  because  he  was  a  defender  of  Athanasius,  stirred 
up  against  him  his  priest  Macedonius,  who  accused  him  of , 
leading  a  life  unbecoming  the  priesthood ;  and  they  pres- 


240  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

ently  assembled  a  synod  at  Constantinople,  wherein  they 
deposed  him,  and  chose  in  his  room  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia. 
In  340,  a  council  at  Alexandria  decided  in  favor  of  Athan- 
asius.  In  341,  a  (founcil  at  Rome,  under  Pope  Julius,  acquit- 
ted Athanasius ;  but  the  Eusebians,  without  waiting  for  this 
synod,  assembled  oftentimes  at  Antioch,  where  they  ordained 
one  Gregory  to  fill  the  see  of  Alexandria,  and  sent  him  to 
seize  upon  it  by  main  force ;  and  Athanasius,  understanding 
what  they  had  done,  retired  to  Rome.  In  341-2,  a  council 
of  ninety  eastern  bishops  was  held  at  Antioch,  who  declared 
that  they  were  not  followers  of  Arius,  but  restored  him,  as 
they  found  his  doctrines  orthodox ;  and  they  made  a  confes- 
sion of  faith,  which  omitted  the  statement  that  Christ  was 
"  consubstantial "  with  the  Father.  In  341,  another  council 
was  held  at  Antioch,  partly  made  up  of  the  same  bishops ; 
and  they  complained,  that  Pope  Julius  had  taken  into  his 
communion  Athanasius  and  Marcellus.  In  345,  came  the 
Council  of  Antioch,  which  was  orthodox.  In  346,  a  council 
was  held  at  Cologne  against  Euphrates ;  of  which  the  acts 
are  forged.  In  347,  the  Council  of  Sardica  was  attended 
by  a  hundred  bishops  from  the  west,  and  seventy-three  from 
the  east ;  those  of  the  east  declared  they  would  not  be  pres- 
ent, unless  St.  Athanasius,  Marcellus,  and  other  bishops,  who 
were  condemned,  were  excluded  from  ecclesiastical  commun- 
ion; and  the  western  bishops  refusing  to  accept  of  this 
condition,  the  council  was  divided,  and  the  eastern  bishops 
withdrew.  The  eastern  bishops  then  assembled  at  Philip- 
popolis,  and  wrote  a  letter,  which  they  dated  from  Sardica, 
addressed  to  all  the  bishops  of  the  world,  crying  out  against 
St.  Athanasius  and  Marcellus  of  Ancyra,  and  making  them 
pass  for  wicked  rogues.  In  341,  the  First  Council  of  Sir- 
mium  was  held  against  the  heretic  Photinus :  this  council 
was  orthodox.  So  also  was  the  Second  Council  of  Sirmium, 
^held  in  357,  and  consisting  of  eastern  bishops.  In  353, 
came  the  Council  of  Aries,  consisting  of  western  bishops, 


THE   NICENE    CHURCH.  241 

who  were  constrained  by  Valens,  as  well  as  the  Pope's 
legates,  to  subscribe  the  condemnation  of  St.  Athanasius ; 
only  a  very  few  continued  obstinate,  and  were  banished.    In 

355,  the  Council  of  Milan  met,  consisting  of  nearly  three 
hundred  western  bishops,  but  few  of  them  resisted  the  solici- 
tations of  the  Emperor  Valens  to  condemn  Athanasius.     In 

356,  Saturninus,  Bishop  of  Aries,  assembled  a  council  at 
Beziers,  and  used  all  his  endeavors  to  make  it  receive  the 
followers  of  Arius ;  St.  Hilary  opposed  him  stoutly,  for 
which  he  and  Rhodanius,  Bishop  of  Toulouse,  were  ban- 
ished. After  he  was  forced  away,  the  bishops  of  this 
council,  being  devoted  to  the  interests  of  Saturninus,  did 
whatever  he  desired;  but  the  other  bishops  of  France 
would  not  communicate  with  him.  In  357,  the  Second 
Council  of  Sirmium  was  held,  and  in  this  year  the  second 
creed  of  Sirmium  was  made  in  that  city  by  Potamius, 
Bishop  of  Lisbon,  in  the  presence  of  Valens,  Ursacius,  Ger- 
manius,  and  some  other  bishops :  this  creed  was  Arian,  and 
in  it  they  rejected  the  word  consubstantial,  and  declared  that 
the  Father  was  greater  than  the  Son.  In  358,  the  Council 
of  Antioch,  under  Eudoxius,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  con- 
demned the  term  consuhstantial.  In  the  same  year  the 
Council  of  Ancyra  condemned  the  heresy  of  Hosius ;  yet, 
at  the  end  of  their  anathemas  against  his  historical  dogmas, 
there  is  an  anathema  against  those  who  say  that  the  Father 
and  Son  are  consuhstantial  or  equal.  In  359,  the  Third 
Council  of  Sirmium  assembled,  and  appears  to  have  been 
orthodox.  In  the  same  year,  at  the  Council  of  Ariminum, 
three  hundred  of  the  four  hundred  bishops  who  attended  at 
first,  were  orthodox,  but  were  induced  to  subscribe  a  semi- 
Arian  confession.  At  the  Council  of  Seleucia,  still  in  the 
same  year,  there  were  a  hundred  and  sixty  bishops,  of  whom 
forty  were  Arians,  and  a  hundred  and  five  semi-Arians.  In 
360,  in  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  consisting  of  fifty 
bishops,  the  Creed  of  Ariminum  was  adopted,  which  rejected 

21 


242  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  term  substance,  as  aji plied  to  Christ.  In  361,  the  Synod 
of  Antioch  declared,  that  the  Son  of  God  was  not  at  all 
like  his  Father  in  substance,  and  that  he  was  created  of 
nothing.  The  next  six  councils  appear  to  have  been  ortho- 
dox ;  they  were  those  of  Alexandria,  in  362 ;  of  Italy,  in 
362 ;  of  Egypt,  in  363  ;  of  Antioch,  in  the  same  year ;  and 
of  Lampsacus,  in  365.  In  366,  the  Council  of  Sinyedanum 
consisted  of  Arian  bishops.  The  bishops  who  were  called 
semi-Arians,  assembled  -many  councils  after  the  Synod  of 
Lampsacus  —  one  at  Smyrna,  composed  of  the  bishops  of 
Asia,  one  in  the  province  of  Pamphylia,  another  in  Isauria, 
another  in  Lycia ;  and  the  result  seems  to  have  been  a  rec- 
onciliation with  the  Church,  though  their  letters  are  not 
extant.  In  368,  a  council  was  held  through  the  Emperor 
Valens :  the  term  consuhstantial  was  rejected.  Next  came 
the  Council  of  Rome  under  Damasus;  when  a  synodical 
letter  was  written  against  the  Arians.  And  in  381,  the 
Council  of  Constantinople  decreed  orthodox  doctrine. 

The  result  is,  that  in  the  fourth  century  nineteen  coimcils 
of  the  Church  were  orthodox,  and  nineteen  heretical;  in  one 
nothing  was  settled  on  account  of  divisions,  and  in  two, 
Athanasius  (the  orthodox)  was  condemned  by  imperial  con- 
straint. At  Ariminum,  though  there  were  three  hundred 
professedly  orthodox  to  one  hundred  Arian  members,  the 
council  was  constrained  to  adopt  a  heterodox  creed ;  which 
subsequently,  through  fear  of  banishment,  was  subscribed 
by  almost  all  the  bishops,  both  in  the  east  and  west,  until 
afterwards  the  same  power  which  caused  Arianism  to  tri- 
umph, adopted  orthodoxy.  Now,  is  this  a  model  for  a  Chris- 
tian Church  in  the  nineteenth  century  ?  Is  this  a  millennial 
picture  which  we  ought  to  transfer  to  our  own  days  ?  I 
affirm,  after  all  the  discussions  which  have  taken  place  in 
the  Protestant  Church  between  Churchmen  and  Dissenters, 
and  notwithstanding  occasional  expressions  of  bitterness, 
which  are  to  be  deplored  and  ought  to  be  retracted,  that  all 


THE    NICENE    CHURCH.  243 

has  been  gentleness  and  quiet,  and  might  be  called  peace 
itself,  in  comparison  with  the  disorders  and  violence  of  an- 
tagonist councils  in  the  Nicene  age.  Of  this,  however,  we 
shall  see  a  little  more  as  we  proceed. 

That  the  faith  and  morals  of  the  Church  in  the  Nicene 
age  were  at  a  very  low  ebb,  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  unexceptionable  witnesses.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  writes, 
(Cat.  15,  p.  209,  Oxon.  1703,)  "Formerly,  indeed,  there 
were  open  heretics,  but  now  the  Church  is  filled  with  con- 
cealed heretics."  Augustine  (Plnarr.  in  41  Ps.  Ben.  edit. 
Par.  IGOl),  "When  we  see  those  who  are  the  strength  of 
the  Church  yielding  for  the  most  part  to  offences,  does  not 
the  body  of  Christ  say.  An  enemy  is  breaking  my  bones  ?  " 
Gregory  Nazianzen  (Orat.  Sec.  sect.  82,  Ben.  ed.  Par.  1778) 
says,  "  Nor  do  the  people  behave  in  one  way,  and  the  priest 
in  another ;  but  rather,  that  saying  seems  to  be  wholly  ful- 
filled, which  was  formerly  uttered  in  reproach,  The  priest  is 
become  as  the  people."  In  his  43d  Oration,  the  same 
ancient  father  speaks  thus  of  the  clergy :  "  But  now  there  is 
a  danger  lest  the  order  which  is  the  holiest  of  all,  should 
become  the  most  ridiculous  of  all.  For  authority  is  not 
more  obtained  by  virtue,  than  by  malice  and  wickedness ; 
and  the  chairs  belong,  not  to  the  most  worthy,  but  to  the 
most  powerful."  Euscbius  (Lib.  H,  Hist.  c.  1,)  recites,  that 
"  on  account  of  the  too  great  laxity  of  discipline,  men  fell 
into  effeminacy  and  slothfulness,  envying  and  abusing  one 
another,  and  only  not  making  war  upon  each  other  with 
arms  and  spears  in  the  place  of  words ;  the  rulers  opposing 
rulers,  and  the  people  disputing  with  the  people."  Basil 
says,  (Sophron.  Epist.  172,)  "  Because  iniquity  is  multiplied, 
the  love  of  many  has  waxed  cold.  For  now  nothing  is  so 
rare  as  to  meet  with  a  spiritual  brother."  Chrysostom 
(Advers.  Oppugn.  Vit.  Mon.  lib.  iii.  Ben.  edit.  Par.  1839) 
gives  the  most  appalling  description  of  the  wide  spread  de- 
pravity of  the  Greek  Church,  and  truly  remarks  that  it  was 


244  THE   GREAT   APOSTASY. 

wonderful  that  they  had  not  experienced  the  fate  of  Sodom. 
"We  cannot  pollute  eyes  or  ears  with  his  narrative.  Those, 
too,  who  should  have  checked  these  abominations,  he  de- 
scribes as  being  too  callous  and  corrupt  to  interpose ;  and  he 
builds  his  defence  of  the  solitary  life  of  the  recluses  in  the 
mountains,  upon  the  impossibility  of  a  young  man's  living 
like  a  Christian  in  the  midst  of  the  general  depravity. 
"  The  tribunals,"  he  says,  "  and  the  laws  are  of  no  use ;  nor 
are  instructors,  fathers,  or  teachers ;  some  are  corrupted  by 
money,  others  only  think  of  being  paid  what  is  due  to  them," 
etc. ;  and  after  describing  the  horrible  wickedness  which 
prevailed,  he  says,  "  If  any  have  avoided  these  snares,  they 
with  difficulty  avoid  sharing  the  bad  reputation,  through 
those  who  reproach  them  with  these  things  —  first,  because 
they  are  very  few,  and  for  this  reason  may  easily  be  hidden 
in  the  multitude  of  the  wicked;  secondly,  because  those 
wicked  and  detestable  demons,  when  they  cannot  avenge 
themselves  upon  those  who  despise  them  in  any  other  way, 
seek  to  injure  them  in  that  manner.  .  .  .  Wherefore,  I  have 
heard  many  say  that  they  wondered  that  another  shower  of 
fire  had  not  come  down  at  this  day,  and  that  our  city  (Con- 
stantinople) had  not  suffered  the  fate  of  Sodom."  Chrysos- 
tom  complains  of  the  general  misconduct  of  the  people,  even 
during  Divine  Service :  (Chrys.  in  Epist.  1  ad  Cor.  liom. 
36.)  "  If  any  one  would  attempt  or  wishes  to  corrupt  a 
woman,  no  place  seems  fitter  to  such  a  one  than  the  church ; 
and  if  any  thing  is  to  be  bought  or  sold,  the  church  seems 
to  be  fitter  for  it  than  the  market-place." 

The  lamentable  character  of  the  Nicene  age  is  confessed 
in  many  of  the  writings  of  the  Fathers.  Thus  Gregory 
Nazianzen  (Oratio  ii.  80)  speaks  as  follows :  "  We  observe 
the  sins  of  others,  not  that  we  may  grieve,  but  that  we  may 
reproach;  not  that  we  may  heal,  but  that  we  may  strike 
afresh,  and  that  the  wounds  of  our  neighbors  may  be  an  ex- 
cuse for  our  own  sins.     And  the  things  which  we  praise  to* 


THE   NICENE    CHURCH.  245 

day  we  condemn  to-morrow.  For  it  is  not  manners,  but 
enmity  or  friendship,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  good  and 
evil.  And  the  things  which  are  deemed  guilty  by  others 
are  admired  by  us ;  and  all  things  are  readily  pardoned  to 
the  impious,  so  magnanimous  are  we  with  respect  to  evil. 
But  all  things  are  become  like  the  beginning,  when  as  yet 
order  was  not,  nor  the  good  arrangement  and  form  which 
now  exist ;  but  when  every  thing,  confused  and  anomalous, 
required  the  hand  of  power  that  should  give  them  form.  Or, 
if  you  will,  as  in  a  night  engagement,  and  with  the  obscure 
rays  of  the  moon,  not  distinguishing  the  faces  of  enemies  or 
friends ;  or  as  in  a  sea-fight  and  tempest,  and  in  gusts  of 
wind  and  in  the  boiling  current,  and  the  dashing  of  the 
waves  and  collision  of  ships,  and  the  pushing  of  boat-hooks, 
and  the  voices  of  the  commanders,  and  the  groans  of  the 
falling,  are  uttering  faint  sounds,  and  perplexed,  and  having 
an  opportunity  for  the  display  of  bravery  (alas !  for  the 
calamity),  they  fall  upon  each  other,  and  are  destroyed  by 
each  other.  Nor  do  the  people  behave  thus,  and  the  priest 
differently;  but  now  that  appears  clearly  to  be  fulfilled 
which  was  formerly  said  in  the  curse  — '  The  priest  has  be- 
come like  the  people.' "  And  again  (Orat.  21,  24)  :  "  For 
in  truth  the  pastors  have  been  foolish,  according  to  what  is 
written, '  And  many  pastors  have  laid  waste  my  vineyard, 
they  have  brought  disgrace  upon  my  desired  portion.'  I 
mean  the  Church  of  God,  which  was  collected  with  many 
labors  and  slaughters,  both  before  and  after  Christ,  and  with 
the  great  sufferings  themselves  of  God  for  us.  For,  with 
the  exception  of  afeiv,  and  those  such  as  were  overlooked  on 
account  of  their  insignificance,  or  who  resisted  through  their 
virtue,  who  it  was  needful  should  be  lefl  as  a  seed  and  root 
to  Israel,  that  he  should  flourish  again  and  revive  through 
the  influences  of  the  Spirit,  all  yielded  to  the  times ;  in  this 
differing  from  each,  that  some  did  it  sooner  and  some  later, 
and  that  some  were  the  champions  and  leaders  of  impiety, 
21* 


246  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

and  others  rank  second,  either  shaken  by  fear,  or  led  captivo 
by  profit,  or  ensnared  by  flattery,  or  circumvented  by  igno- 
ranee,  which  is  the  least  of  all." 

To  the  same  effect  writes  Basil  (de  Spiritu  Sancto,  c. 
XXX.)  :  "  But  than  what  sea  storm  is  not  this  tempest  of 
the  churches  more  flerce ;  in  which  every  boundary  of  the 
fjithers  has  been  moved,  and  every  foundation  and  fortifica- 
tion of  doctrines  has  been  unsettled,  all  things  are  agitated 
and  overthrown,  having  been  raised  upon  a  rotten  founda- 
tion ?  Falling  upon  each  other,  we  are  overthrown  by  each 
other;  and  if  your  enemy  does  not  first  strike  you,  your 
friend  wounds  you ;  and  if  he  should  fall,  being  stricken, 
your  fellow-soldier  rises  against  you.  We  are  in  fellowship 
so  far  as  to  hate  our  adversaries  in  common ;  but  when  our 
enemies  have  disappeared,  we  immediately  regard  each  other 
as  enemies.  On  this  account,  who  can  enumerate  the  num- 
ber of  shipwrecks,  either  of  those  who  sink  from  the  attack 
of  enemies,  or  of  those  who  go  down  from  the  hidden  snares 
of  their  companions,  or  of  others  who  perish  from  the  un- 
skilfulness  of  their  leaders;  since  the  Churches,  with  the 
men  themselves,  are  destroyed  by  heretical  snares,  as  it 
were  by  hidden  rocks,  and  others  of  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord's  passion  who  have  taken  the  helm,  have  made  ship- 
wreck as  to  their  faith  ?  A  certain  harsh  clamor  of  those 
who  are  in  colhsion,  through  contention,  and  a  confused 
shouting,  and  an  indistinct  sound  from  the  never  silent  up- 
roar of  these  about  the  true  doctrine  of  righteousness,  by 
enlarging  or  contracting  it,  has  now  filled  almost  the  whole 
Church.  For  some  are  carried  into  Judaism,  on  account  of 
the  confusion  of  the  persons ;  and  others  to  Gentilism,  on 
account  of  the  contraction  of  the  natures  ;  neither  the  di- 
vinely inspired  Scriptures  are  sufficient  to  mediate  between 
them,  nor  the  apostolical  traditions  to  decide  their  respective 
differences."  And  again  (Epist.  92.  2,  An.  872)  :  "  For 
neither  is  one  Church  endangered,  nor  are  two  or  three 


THE   NICENE    CHURCH.  247 

fallen  into  this  dreadful  storm.  For  the  evil  of  this  heresy 
feeds  almost  from  the  boundaries  of  Illyricum  unto  Thebais ; 
and  being  deeply  rooted  by  many  who  meanwhile  have  cul- 
tivated sedulously  impiety,  now  it  has  sprouted  forth  those 
destructive  fruits.  For  the  doctrines  of  piety  have  been 
overthrown ;  the  laws  of  the  Churches  have  been  confound- 
ed ;  the  ambition  of  those  who  fear  not  the  Lord  has  leaped 
into  the  highest  stations ;  and  the  first  seat  henceforth  is 
openly  proposed  as  the  reward  of  impiety ;  so  that  he  who 
has  most  shockingly  hlasphemed  is  preferred  as  the  people's 
bishop.  Priestly  gravity  has  departed ;  those  who  should 
feed  the  flock  of  the  Lord  with  knowledge  are  wanting ;  the 
ambitious  always  consuming  the  money  of  the  poor  on  their 
own  enjoyment,  or  in  the  distribution  of  gifts.  Tlie  accu- 
racy of  the  canons  is  obscured  ;  there  is  great  liberty  of  sin- 
ning ;  for  those  who  have  attained  power  through  human 
favor,  make  a  return  for  the  grace  of  their  favor  in  granting 
to  those  who  sin  all  things  that  are  pleasurable  to  them. 
The  just  judgment  has  perished ;  every  one  walks  according 
to  the  desire  of  his  own  heart ;  wickedness  is  boundless ;  the 
people  reject  all  advice  ;  their  rulers  have  no  freedom  of 
speech.  On  account  of  these  things,  unbelievers  laugh,  the 
weak  in  faith  fluctuate.  Faith  is  doubtful,  ignorance  over- 
spreads souls,  on  account  of  those  who  craftily  pervert  the 
word,  imitating  the  truth.  The  mouths  of  the  pious  are 
silent ;  every  blasphemous  tongue  is  loosened  :  sacred  things 
are  profaned ;  the  healthy  among  the  people  fly  from  the 
houses  of  prayer  as  the  schools  of  impiety,  and  in  the  deserts 
raise  their  hands  with  groans  and  tears  to  the  Lord  in 
heaven.  .  .  .  This  is  the  most  pitiable  of  all,  that  that  part 
which  appears  to  be  healthy  is  divided  in  itself;  and  similar 
misfortunes  apparently  surround  us  with  those  which  hap- 
pened at  Jerusalem  at  Vespasian's  siege.  For  they  were 
pressed  at  once  with  external  war,  and  were  consumed  at 
the  same  time  with  the  internal  sedition  of  their  own  coun- 


i?48  THE    GKEAT    APOSTASY. 

trymen.  But  with  us,  in  addition  to  the  open  war  of  the 
heretics,  that  also  whicli  has  arisen  among  those  who  appear 
to  be  orthodox  has  brought  the  Churches  to  the  extremity 
of  weakness."  And  again  (Letter  164,  An.  374)  :  "  Scarcely 
any  part  of  the  world  has  escaped  the  conflagration  of 
heresy." 

Respecting  the  heresies  of  this  period,  we  read  in  the 
Preface  to  the  Council  of  Nice,  translated  from  Arabian 
manuscripts,  by  Abrahamo  Exchellenti  —  "  Now  such  dis- 
sensions and  discords  had  arisen  among  the  faithful,  that  the 
perverse  heretics  were  more  numerous  than  the  orthodox, 
(ut  plures  essent  perversi  haeretici  quam  orthodoxi,)  and  the 
adversaries  daily  increased,  whilst  the  faithful  diminished, 
so  that  they  almost  resembled  corn  in  a  most  ample  and  fer- 
tile field  of  darnel.  Nor  did  these  abstain  from  persecuting 
the  Church  of  God  ;  but  rather  were  w^orse  than  heretics, 
for  in  some  places  they  altered  the  Scriptures,  and  some 
places  they  added  to  them ;  in  some  places  they  expunged 
those  passages  which  were  least  favorable  to  their  doctrines, 
and  substituted  for  the  apostolical  traditions  and  rejected 
decretals,  other  things  of  their  own  invention."  Such  things 
as  these  are  not  perpetrated  in  the  nineteenth  century :  and 
therefore  the  transference  of  the  vState  of  the  Nicene  Church 
to  the  present  age,  would  surely  be  a  calamity  and  a  curse, 
and  not  a  blessing. 

You  may  be  aware  also  that  when  one  reasons  with  Ro- 
man Catholics,  or  Tractarians,  they  cite  what  they  call  the 
long  list  of  sects,  by  which  Protestant  Christianity  is  disfig- 
ured ;  they  tell  you  of  Episcopalians,  and  Presbyterians, 
and  Independents,  and  Wesleyans,  and  Huntingtonians,  and 
Southcotians,  and  Ranters,  and  Jumpers,  and  others,  whom 
they  conjure  up,  for  the  excesses  of  one  half  of  whom  Prot- 
estantism is  not  responsible.  But  for  every  one  of  the  sects 
that  have  existed  in  tlie  nineteenth  century,  I  will  produce 
two  at  least  as  rampant  in  the  Nicene  age.     I  will  just  run 


THE    NICENE    CHURCH.  249 

over  a  list  of  a  few  of  tliem.  There  were  —  1.  The  Sabba- 
tians ;  a  sect  so  called  from  keeping  the  Jewish,  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  Christian  Sabbath.  2.  Simonites ;  from  Simon 
Magus.  3.  Marcionists  ;  who  held  three  gods.  4.  Sophists ; 
who  held  the  transmigration  of  souls  into  beasts.  5.  Mani- 
chaeans ;  who  held  two  principles,  one  good,  and  one  evil. 
6.  Paulianists ;  who  held  one  god,  in  substance  and  person, 
with  three  names.  7.  Photinians ;  who  held,  that  the  three 
Divine  Persons  were  compounded,  and,  by  their  composi- 
tion, united  in  one :  if  any  one  laughed,  he  was  turned  out. 
8.  Barbari ;  who  were  given  to  all  sorts  of  iniquity.  9. 
Phocalites ;  who  held  all  things  to  be  unclean,  and  denied 
the  Resurrection  and  Judgment  to  come.  W.  Disanitea; 
who  held  two  gods,  one  good,  one  bad,  and  that  neither  good 
nor  bad  works  were  in  a  man's  power ;  they  opposed  the 
Resurrection  and  Last  Judgment.  11.  Arians.  12.  Euno- 
mians ;  who  were  semi- Arians.  13.  Macedonians ;  who  de- 
nied the  Deity  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  14.  Montanists ;  who 
gave  a  divine  honor  to  the  Virgin,  and  held  many  other 
errors.  15.  Timotheists  ;  who  only  rejected  the  rich.  16. 
Novatians,  or  Cathari ;  who  maintained  that  no  repentance 
was  accepted,  after  sin  committed,  whether  great  or  small. 
And,  besides  these  sects,  there  were  many  others,  of  seventy 
of  whom  Clemens  has  made  mention  in  his  Second  Epistle. 
Such  was  the  unity  of  the  Nieene  age. 

The  description  of  some  of  the  Councils  held  at  this  pe- 
riod is  on  record,  and  must  not  be  forgotten  here.  Of  the 
Councils  of  Seleucia  and  Constantinople,  Gregory  Nazianzen 
(Orat.  xxi.  22),  says  —  "The  Council  which  was  first  held 
at  Seleucia,  a  city  of  the  holy  and  beautiful  virgin  Hecla, 
and  afterwards  at  this  great  city,  being  the  work  of  this 
power,  caused  them  to  be  celebrated  for  the  vilest  things, 
who  hitherto  were  distinguished  by  the  most  honorable ; 
whether  we  are  to  call  that  council  the  Tower  of  Babel, 
which  rightly  divided  the  tongues,  (would  that  theirs  had 


250  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

been  divided,  for  there  was  a  symphony  in  evil !)  or  whether 
we  are  to  call  it  the  Council  of  Caiaphas,  in  which  Christ 
was  condemned,  or  by  whatever  other  name  it  is  to  be 
called,  which  overturned  and  confounded  all  things/  The 
Council  of  Constantinople,  and  the  state  of  the  Church  in 
general,  are  also  fully  described  in  the  Benedictine  Preface 
to  the  Works  of  Gregory  Nazianzen,  in  a  passage  which  I 
proceed  to  quote.  "  Let  us  now  relate  who  and  what  were 
the  bishops  wdiom  Gregory  disquiets  in  his  verses,  and 
what  was  the  face  of  the  whole  Church.  Theodosius  the 
Great,  having  been  purified  in  the  sacred  font  by  Ascholius, 
Bishop  of  Thessalonica,  in  the  year  380,  issued  his  golden 
edict  to  the  people  of  the  city  of  Constantinople,  in  which  he 
enacted,  that  the  heretics  who  should  not  embrace  the  faith 
which  Pope  Damasus  and  Peter  Bishop  of  Alexandria  fol- 
lowed, should  be  judged  and  punished.  Hence,  then,  were 
many  bishops,  of  v/hom  Gregory  Nazianzen  says,  '  As  to 
what  regards  the  faith,  they  were  prepared  for  either  part, 
not  observing  the  laws  of  God,  but  of  the  times.'  Such 
bishops,  who  being  middle  men  between  the  Arians  and 
Catholics,  set  themselves  to  sale  \_se  venditabant]  to  either 
party  according  to  the  times,  being  received  by  the  Church 
with  the  honor  and  rank  of  the  episcopal  order  and  dignity 
which  they  had  obtained,  now  so  augmented  the  number  of 
wicked  bishops,  that  sometimes  even  in  councils  they  pre- 
vailed over  the  good  bishops.  Hence  those  just  complaints 
of  Gregory,  who  could  not  restrain  his  zeal  and  indignation. 
Baronius,  An.  381,  speaking  of  the  First  General  Council 
of  Constantinople,  says  —  'There  w^ere  at  hand  many  of 
those,  who  formerly  in  time  of  Valens,  through  the  favor  of 
the  Arians,  the  orthodox  being  expelled,  had  accepted  the 
vacant  sees  ;  for  these,  yielding  to  the  times,  under  a  Cath- 
olic emperor,  presented  themselves  equally  as  the  defenders 

of  the  Catholic  Faith You  understand,  I  think,  of  what 

sort,  with  the  exception  of  a  feio,  the  bishops  of  the  Eastern 


THE    NICENE    CHURCH.  251 

Church  were  then  wont  to  be ;  how  they  were  wont  to  have 
their  faith  changeable  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  times, 
and  only  accommodated  to  private  advantage  ;  of  which 
thing  not  only  Gregory,  but  Basil  in  his  writings  is  an 
abundant  witness,  as  has  been  shown  before  in  its  place.' 
Baronius  might  have  added  many  other  witnesses,  chiefly 
Chrysostom  and  Jerome.  There  were  many  also  of  the 
orthodox  bishops  laboring  under  serious  vices,  of  which  the 
least  was  ignorance  (which  is  itself  indeed  an  evil),  who, 
scarcely  purged  by  baptism  of  their  former  sins,  brought  no 
virtues  to  the  episcopal  office.  Concerning  these  Gregory 
thus  speaks :  *  I  am  ashamed  indeed  to  say  in  what  manner 
our  affairs  are  provided,  but  I  will  sing  notwithstanding. 
Whereas  we  have  been  ordained  and  constituted  the  teach- 
ers of  virtue,  we  are  the  workshop  of  all  evil.  A  ruler  is 
found  in  a  moment,  who  has  never  governed  any  thing  be- 
fore, and  wlio  comes  as  a  novice  to  the  dignity.  Divine 
things  are  now  like  the  cast  of  dice Yesterday  dis- 
charging the  office  of  an  orator,  you  held  law  and  right  to 
be  venal;  but  now  you  are  suddenly  made  a  judge  and  a 

Daniel No  one  can  change  his  garment  as  easily  as 

you  change  your  morals Yesterday  you  were  a  Simon 

Magus ;  to-day,  a  Simon  Peter Alas !  too  great  celer- 
ity!  ...  .  Alas  !  instead  of  a  little  fox,  thou  hast  come  forth 
a  lion.'" 

With  regard  to  the  Council  of  Ephesus,  hear  what  Dupin, 
a  Roman  Catholic,  says,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History : 
"  There  are  several  objections  made  against  the  nature  of 
this  council,  and  the  management  of  it.  Some  say  it  ought 
to  be  accounted  no  better  than  a  tumultuous  and  rash  assem- 
bly, where  all  things  were  carried  by  passion  and  noise,  and 

not  for  an  oecumenical  assembly The  proceedings,  in 

my  judgment,  seem  to  prove  more  clearly  that  St.  Cyril  and 
the  bishops  of  his  party  were  hurried  by  passion ;  that  they 
greatly  aimed  at  the  condemnation  of  Nestorius,  and  were 


252  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

afraid  of  nothing  more  than  of  the  coming  of  the  eastern 
bishops,  for  fear  they  should  not  be  able  to  do  what  they 
pleased.  For  in  their  first  session  they  cited  Nestorius 
twice,  read  the  testimonies  of  the  fathers,  St.  Cyril's  letters, 
and  the  twelve  chapters,  Nestorius's  writings ;  and  all  gave 
their  judgments.  Was  ever  any  business  concluded  with  so 
much  haste  ?     The  least  matter  of  this  nature  required  a 

whole  session The  sentence  which  they  caused  to  be 

delivered  to  Nestorius  was  made  up  of  such  words  as  dis- 
cover the  passion  they  were  in :  'To  Nestorius,  another  Ju- 
das.' ....  Was  it  not  enough  to  condemn  and  depose  him, 
but  they  insult  over  him  with  abusive  words  ?  Lastly,  this 
council  was  so  far  from  bringing  peace,  that  it  brought 
nothing  but  trouble,  divisions,  and  scandals  into  the  Church 
of  Christ.  So  that  that  may  be  said  of  this  council  with  a 
great  deal  more  truth,  which  Gregory  Nazianzen  said  of  the 
councils  of  his  time,  — '  That  he  never  saw  an  assembly  of 
bishops  that  had  a  good  and  happy  conclusion ;  that  they 
always  increased  the  distemper  rather  than  cured  it ;  that 
the  obstinate  contests,  and  the  ambition  of  overcoming  and 
domineering,  which  ordinarily  reigns  among  them,  are  pre- 
judicial; and  ordinarily  those  who  are  concerned  to  judge 
others  are  moved  thereto  by  ill-will,  rather  than  by  a  de- 
sign to  restrain  the  faults  of  others.'  This  seems  to  agree 
with  the  Council  of  Ephesus,  better  than  any  other  assembly 
of  bishops." 

The  following  is  Dupin's  account  of  the  discord  after  the 
Council  of  Ephesus:  "The  conclusion  of  the  council  did 
not  at  all  conduce  to  the  peace  of  the  Church ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  the  minds  of  men  appeared  more  discontented 
than  ever,  and  the  eastern  bishops,  who  had  the  worst  of  it, 
sought  to  revenge  themselves.  In  their  return  they  wrote 
to  Theodotus,  bishop  of  Ancyra,  against  the  letters  of  the 
bishops  of  the  council ;  at  Tarsus  they  confirmed  what  they 
had  done,  and  deposed,  not  only  Cyril  and  Memnon,  but 


THE   NICENE   CHURCH.  253 

also  SIX  of  the  deputies  of  the  Council  of  Ephesus ;  Juve- 
nales,  bishop  of  Jerusalem ;  Flavian,  bishop  of  Philippi ; 
Ferinus,  bishop  of  Cajsarea ;  Theodotus,  bishop  of  Ancyra  ; 
Acacius,  'bishop  of  Meletene ;  and  Enoptius,  bishop  of 
Ptoleraais.  Afterwards,  having  come  into  the  east,  they 
met  again  at  Antioch,  confirmed  what  they  had  done  a  sec- 
ond time,  and  from  thence  wrote  to  the  Emperor 

But  as  the  party  of  Cyril  was  ill  used  in  the  east,  so  those 
of  the  Nestorian  party  of  the  eastern  bishops  met  no  better 
usage  in  Asia,  Cappadocia,  and  Thracia.  Maximian,  chosen 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  who  began  already  to  exercise  his 
jurisdiction  over  the  churches  of  those  dioceses,  would  have 
himself  acknowledged  by  all  the  bishops,  and  deprived  those 
who  would  not  communicate  with  him.  Ferinus,  bishop  of 
Csesarea,  came  to  Tyana,  and  ordained  a  bishop  in  the  place 
of  Eutherius ;  but  he,  getting  some  help,  forced  him  whom 
Ferinus  had  ordained  to  renounce  his  ordination.  They 
also  attempted  to  depose  Dorotheus,  metropolitan  of  Mar- 
tianople,  and  ordain  Saturninus  in  his  place.  They  also 
strove  to  deprive  Halladus,  bishop  of  Tarsus.  Finally,  all 
places  were  full  of  deposed  and  exiled  bishops,  and  the 
Church  was  in  terrible  trouble  and  confusion." 

In  Fleuri's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Hv.  27,  is  an  account  of 
the  false  Council  of  Ephesus,  as  follows,  — "  The  bishops 
embrace  the  feet  of  Dioscorus,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  sup- 
plicating him  not  to  depose  Flavian,  bishop  of  Constantino- 
ple. He  caused  the  proconsul  to  enter  with  a  great  multi- 
tude of  soldiers,  armed  with  swords,  sticks,  and  chains. 
The  bishops,  constrained  by  force,  for  the  most  part  signed 
a  blank  paper ;  Flavian  was  banished,  but  died  a  few  days 
after,  of  the  Mchs  and  other  ill  treatment  which  he  had  re- 
ceived, chiefly  from  Barsymas  and  his  monks The 

one  hundred   and    thirty   bishops    seemed    to    have   been 

opposed,  but  not  of  a  very  meek  spirit When  they 

came  to  the  last  session,  in  the  place  when  Eusebius  of 
22 


254  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Doylee  pressed  Eutyches  to  confess  two  natures  after  the 
incarnation,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  consubstantial  with  us 
according  to  the  flesh,  the  Council  of  Ephesus  cried  out  — 
"  Take  away  and  burn  Eusebius ;  let  him  be  burned  alive ; 
let  him  be  cut  in  two ;  as  he  has  divided,  let  him  be  divided." 
And  again :  "  In  his  place  [Flavian's],  and  apparently  after 
his  death,  they  ordained  Anatolius,  deacon  of  Alexandria, 
bishop  of  Constantinople.  Thus  there  was  a  schism  in  the 
Church ;  the  bishops  of  Egypt,  of  Thrace,  and  Palestine, 
followed  Dioscorus ;  those  of  Pontus  and  Asia  followed 
those  of  the  communion  of  Flavian ;  and  this  schism  lasted 
till  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius." 

The  following  letter  of  Athanasius  and  the  Egyptian 
bishops,  detailing  Arian  outrages,  is  from  Manse's  Councils, 
ii.  p.  1164,  An.  336:  "We  do  not  doubt  that  the  news  has 
reached  you,  of  how  many  and  what  things  we  daily  suffer 
from  the  heretics,  and  principally  from  the  Arians,  since  we 
are  persecuted  by  them  to  such  a  degree,  that  we  are  even 
tired  of  our  existence.  For,  at  the  present  time,  when  they 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  rushed  in  upon  us  and  could  not 
seize  us,  —  who,  according  to  the  precept  of  the  Lord,  who 
says,  '  If  they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  fly  unto  another,' 
had  avoided  them  by  flying  lest  the  people  should  suffer,  — 
they  have  laid  waste  every  thing.  For  they  have  so  devas- 
tated our  property,  that  they  neither  have  left  us  books,  or 
clerical  vestments,  or  any  other  utensils.  Burning,  more- 
over, our  books,  even  to  the  very  least,  on  account  of  the 
faithful  representation  of  truth,  and  not  leaving  an  iota  of 
them,  in  contempt  of  ourselves  and  all  Christians;  they 
even  burned  the  Nicene  Synod,  with  which  the  clergy  and 
the  people  were  principally  imbued."  And  the  Synodical 
Letter  of  the  Council  of  Alexandria,  held  in  the  year  339, 
is  to  the  like  effect :  "  We  think  that  the  things  which  they 
have  dared  to  perpetrate  at  Alexandria  cannot  be  unknown 
to  you,  since  their  report  is  spread  throughout  all  lands. 


THE   NICENE    CHURCH.  255 

Swords  were  drawn  against  the  sacred  virgins  and  the 
brethren :  whips  were  applied  to  those  bodies  which  were 
precious  to  God :  the  feet  of  those  who  meditated  chastity 
and  all  good  works  were  lamed  by  the  violence  of  stripes. 
Hence  the  crimes  committed  against  them ;  the  Gentile  peo- 
ple stripped  them,  beat  them,  treated  them  contumeliously, 
threatened  them  with  the  altars  and  sacrifices  of  idols,  etc. 
Among  these  things  the  virgins  [were  seen]  to  fly,  the  Gen- 
tiles to  insult  the  Church,  bishops  walking  about  in  the  very 
houses  where  these  things  were  perpetrated,  to  please  whom 
[m  quorum  gratiam]  wretched  virgins  were  compelled  to 
meet  drawn  swords,  all  kinds  of  dangers,  and  every  insult 
and  injury.  And  they  suffered  these  things,  at  the  very 
time  of  the  fast,  from  the  guests  of  the  bishops  [ccepulombus 
episcoporum'],  with  whom  they  feasted  within  [cwm  quihus 
convivium  intus  agitabant^."  At  the  Council  of  Sardica 
also,  it  appears  from  Hilary's  account  of  the  deposition  of 
the  bishops,  (Fragm.  Op.  Hist.  11,  c.  4,)  that  "some  showed 
the  marks  of  swords,  blows,  and  scars ;  others  complained, 
that  they  had  been  tortured  by  them  by  hunger ;  to  these 
were  added  the  stripping  of  virgins,  the  burning  of  churches 
and  prisons  for  the  ministers  of  God."  The  Arians  retorted 
the  same  accusations  upon  the  orthodox ;  and  the  seceding 
bishops  protested  —  "  By  force,  by  slaughter,  by  wars,  hav- 
ing ravaged  the  churches  of  the  Alexandrians,  and  this  by 
battles  and  Gentile  slaughters,  an  immense  multitude  of  all 
sorts  of  wicked  and  abandoned  men,  coming  from  Constanti- 
nople and  Alexandria,  had  assembled  at  Sardica ;  men  guilty 
of  homicides,  blood,  slaughter,  thefts,  spoiling,  and  all  sorts 
of  wicked  and  sacrilegious  crimes,  who  had  broken  the  altars, 
set  fire  to  the  churches,  etc.,  and  bad  atrociously  slain  the 
wisest  elders,  deacons,  and  priests  of  God." 

To  take  froin  a  more  modern  writer  an  account  of  out- 
rages at  Constantinople,  Milman,  in  his  History  of  Chris- 
tianity (vol.  iii.  p.  12),  writes  thus:    "At   the   death   of 


256  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Eusebius,  the  Athanasian  party  revived  the  claims  of  Paul, 
whom  they  asserted  to  have  been  canonically  elected,  and 
unjustly  deprived  of  the  see ;  the  Arians  supported  Macae- 
donius.  The  dispute  spread  from  the  church  into  the  streets, 
from  the  clergy  to  the  populace ;  blood  was  shed ;  the  whole 
city  was  in  arms,  on  one  part  or  the  other.  The  Emperor 
was  at  Antioch;  he  commanded  Hermogenes,  who  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  cavalry  in  Thrace,  to  pass 
through  Constantinople,  and  expel  the  intruder  Paul.  Her- 
mogenes, at  the  head  of  his  soldiery,  advanced  to  force 
Paul  from  the  church;  the  populace  arose;  the  soldiers 
were  repelled.  The  general  took  refuge  in  a  house,  which 
was  instantly  set  on  fire.  The  mangled  body  of  Hermo- 
genes was  dragged  through  the  street,  and  at  length  cast 
into  the  sea." 

There  were  similar  outrages  at  Rome,  as  we  are  informed 
in  Platina's  Life  of  Damasus  — "  But  Damasus,  when  he 
was  elected  to  assume  the  Pontificate,  had  the  Deacon  Uri- 
cinus  for  a  rival  in  the  Church,  when  many  were  killed  on 
both  sides  in  the  church  itself,  since  the  matter  was  not 
only  discussed  by  votes,  but  by  force  of  arms." 

Then,  as  to  persecution,  I  find  it  stated  in  Manse's  Coun- 
cils, vol.  iii.  p.  527,  —  "  But  the  Emperor  [Theodosius]  pro- 
vided, by  the  most  severe  laws,  that  whoever  dissented  from 
the  Nicene  and  Constantinople  Symbol  [of  faith],  should 
be  deprived  of  their  bishoprics,  and  not  only  should  not 
be  promoted  by  others,  but  should  be  driven  from  the 
church,  from  the  walls  of  the  cities,  and  from  the  company 
of  men." 

Would  it  be  a  blessing  to  our  father-land,  that  the  scenes 
and  circumstances,  the  laws  and  practices  of  the  Nicene 
Church,  should  be  revived  as  models,  and  enjoined  for  ob- 
servance and  imitation  in  the  Protestant  Church  in  this 
nineteenth  century  ?     I  think  not. 

It  is  clear  that  no  system  of  ecclesiastical  polity  is  per- 


THE    NICENE    CHURCH.  257 

feet.  "We  have  seen  how,  in  that  age,  bishops  fought  with 
bishops,  and  decided  their  claims,  not  by  texts  and  argu- 
ments, but  by  hard  blows. 

Presbyteries,  synods,  and  general  assemblies,  seem  to 
have  exhibited  no  better  characteristics.  The  one  anathe- 
matized the  other;  and  that  which  was  most  packed  by 
artifice,  and  frequently  by  force,  decided  what  was  ortho- 
doxy and  what  was  error. 

Popular  election  has  proved  itself  no  better  than  either. 
The  people  frequently  chose  bishops  stained  with  crime, 
and  fought  for  bishops  who  preached  heterodox  doctrine. 

It  is  altogether  a  mistaken  controversy,  whether  the 
Voluntary  principle,  or  the  Established  Church  System, 
was  the  true  source  of  all  the  mischiefs  that  prevailed  in 
the  Church  of  the  first  five  centuries.  The  fact  is,  that 
when  there  was  the  Voluntary  system,  errors  the  most 
grievous,  and  principles  the  most  deleterious  prevailed ;  and 
when  the  Established  Church  System  began,  and  the  wing 
of  the  State  was  thrown  over  the  Nicene  Church,  those 
errors  and  corruptions  seem  simply  to  have  shot  forth,  and 
spread  their  pernicious  and  devastating  influence  more 
widely. 

We  are  driven  from  all  systems  of  ecclesiastical  polity, 
from  all  prescriptions  of  patronage  or  popular  election, 
simply  "  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony."  It  alone  is  the 
standard  of  truth ;  its  testimony  alone  is  our  protection 
against  error.  Whatever  is  according  to  this  Book,  is  truth ; 
but  if  all  the  bishops,  and  fathers,  and  doctors  of  the  Uni- 
versal Cliurch  were  to  assert  something  not  according  to  it, 
their  consentaneous  asseverations  would  weigh  but  as  a 
feather  against  one  single  text  taken  from  the  Oracles  of 
God. 

Let  me  now,  in  contrast  to  the   picture  I  have  had  to 
,  ilace  before  you,  endeavor  briefly  to  sketch  the  Apostolic 
•.  Ciurch  of  Christ,  as  she  is  described  in  his  word. 
22* 


258  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

Her  first  grand  characteristic  is  Christ's  presence  with 
her :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  I  know  the  Roman  Catholic  misquotes  that  text : 
"  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,"  —  he  infers,  immediately, 
therefore  the  Church  is  infallible.  He  takes  care  to  omit 
the  former  part  of  the  verse  —  "  Teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."  As  long  as 
the  Church  teaches  the  people  to  observe  whatsoever  Christ 
has  commanded,  so  long  Christ  is  with  her ;  but  the  moment 
she  ceases  so  to  teach,  she  forfeits  the  promise.  A  second 
characteristic  is,  Chi'ist  is  its  head ;  and  just  as  my  head 
transmits  to  my  little  finger  all  its  nervous  vitality  and 
vigor,  so  Christ,  as  the  Head  of  the  Church,  transmits  to 
the  meanest  member  of  it  all  his  spiritual  vitality  and 
strength.  Again,  the  Church  of  Christ  is  described  as  the 
object  of  his  love :  "  He  loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us ; " 
"  Unto  him  that  loved  us."  She  is  described  as  redeemed 
by  Christ :  "  Ye  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things, 
as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ." 
She  is  described  as  chosen  in  Christ :  "  chosen  in  him  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world."  She  is  by  him  provided  with 
ministers  :  "  He  gave  some  apostles  ;  and  some,  prophets ; 
and  some,  evangelists ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers ;  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry." 
She  is  described  as  one  —  "  one  fold  under  one  Shepherd  ; " 
"  We  being  many,  are  one  body ; "  "  In  Christ  Jesus  there 
is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision, 
but  all  are  one  in  Christ;"  —  outward  diversity,  but  real 
and  substantial  unity.  And  lastly,  she  is  to  extend  over  the 
whole  earth :  the  "  stone  cut  out  without  hands  "  is  to  "  be- 
come a  great  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth;"  "all 
nations  shall  serve  him ; "  "  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow 
unto  it."     Or,  as  it  is  beautifully  expressed  in  a  few  lines-— 


THE    NICENE    CHURCH.  259 

•  '      >  V  Arabia's  desert  ranger 

To  him  shall  bow  the  knee, 
And  Ethiopian  stranger 
His  glory  come  and  see : 
With  anthems  of  devotion 
Ships  from  the  isles  shall  greet, 
And  pour  the  wealth  of  ocean 
In  tribute  at  his  feet. 

"  Kings  shall  fall  do-woi  before  him. 
And  gold  and  incense  bring ; 
All  nations  shall  adore  him, 
His  praise  all  people  sing. 
For  he  shall  have  dominion 
O'er  river,  sea,  and  shore; 
Far  as  the  eagle's  pinion 
Or  dove's  light  wing  can  soar." 

Let  me  notice  some  of  the  epithets  bestowed  upon  the 
Church.  She  is  called  the  Lamb's  wife;  and  what  does 
this  imply?  The  moment  that  a  woman  is  married,  she 
loses  her  own  name,  and  assumes  her  husband's ;  she  loses 
her  legal  responsibility,  and  he  becomes  responsible  for  all 
her  debts,  contracted  either  before  or  subsequent  to  her 
marriage.  It  is  so  with  Christ  the  husband,  and  the  Church 
his  spouse.  We  submerge  our  name,  which  is  Marah  (bit- 
terness), in  Christ's  name,  which  is  Naomi  (beautiful)  ;  wo 
lose  our  name,  which  is  Sin,  and  clothed  in  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  his  name  becomes  ours,  so  that,  as  is  said  in 
Jeremiah,  "  This  is  the  name  wherewith  she  shall  be  called. 
The  Lord  our  righteousness."  And  —  bright  and  beautiful 
thought !  —  he  becomes  responsible  for  all  our  debts :  not  a 
sin  I  have  committed  remains  unexpiated  by  his  blood,  not 
a  stain  upon  my  soul  uncovered  by  his  righteousness ;  so 
that,  sheltered  in  the  glorious  robe,  I  can  stand  before  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  and  feel  that  in  him  there 
is  no  blemish  nor  imperfection  in  my  title,  —  that  his  title  is 
my  indefeasible  title  also.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  de- 
scribed in  Scripture  as  his  body;  clothed,  protected,  and 


260  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

nourished  by  him.  It  is  described  also  as  the  city  of  God : 
"  We  have  a  strong  city ; "  "  Glorious  things  are  spoken  of 
thee,  O  city  of  God."  A  city  is  not  an  emanation  from  the 
earth  —  as  a  tree,  or  a  plant,  or  a  flower  —  but  an  artificial 
thing,  constructed  by  man's  skill,  and  executed  by  man's 
power;  and  the  Church  of  Christ  is  not  an  earthborn 
thing,  like  a  flower,  or  a  plant,  or  an  earthly  production, 
destined  to  crumble  into  its  original  elements  of  earth ;  but 
she  is  a  supercelestial  thing,  in  plan,  and  principle,  and 
pattern,  let  down  from  heaven,  and  destined  to  survive  the 
ruin  and  desolation  of  the  world,  and,  like  Hope  described 
by  the  poet  — 

"  It  shall  o'er  the  ruin  smile, 

And  light  its  torch  at  Nature's  funeral  pile." 

"  Glorious  things,"  indeed,  are  spoken  of  this  city ;  its 
walls  are  not  like  walls  of  stone,  nor  even  like  the  ships, 
"the  wooden  walls  of  England,"  but  "salvation  will  God 
appoint  for  walls  and  bulwarks."  It  is  described  as  the 
"vineyard  of  the  Lord,"  as  the  "pillar  of  truth,"  as  the 
"  heritage  of  God,"  as  "  the  +bld  of  Christ,"  as  "  the  vision 
of  peace,"  as  "  the  daughter  of  the  King." 

The  Church  of  Christ  is  described  in  its  members,  under 
various  beautiful  similitudes.  Every  believer  in  that 
Church  is  described  by  one  most  expressive  symbol  —  the 
apple  of  God's  eye ;  and  in  Scripture,  remember,  there  are 
no  such  things  as  hyperboles ;  on  the  contrary,  all  language 
sinks  beneath  the  weight  and  magnificence  of  the  truth 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  would  convey.  Instead  of 
deducting,  as  the  mere  worldling  says,  fifty  per  cent,  from 
its  statements,  you  are  to  recollect,  that  when  God  has  ex- 
hausted all  the  treasures  of  earthly  metaphor,  they  never 
over  express,  but  always  under  express,  the  great  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  Now  God  says,  he  will  "  keep  us  as  the  apple 
of  his  eye."     If  a  mote  in  the  sunbeam,  or  a  single  particle 


THE    NICENE   CHURCH.  261 

of  straw  borne  upon  the  light  wings  of  the  wind,  were  ap- 
proaching my  eye,  the  eyelid,  by  an  instinctive  movement 
without  any  volition  of  mine,  instantly  closes,  and  protects 
the  eyeball ;  and  just  so  do  the  great  attributes  of  the  ever- 
lasting God  close  around  each  believer;  and  you  must 
dethrone  the  Paternal,  and  destroy  the  Omnipotent,  and  out- 
wit the  Omniscient,  before  you  can  touch  a  hair  of  the 
head  of  one  redeemed  child  of  the  Most  High,  or  injure  the 
spirit  of  one  whose  trust  is  in  the  Lamb  of  God  who  was 
slain  for  us. 

Another  representation  of  the  Christian  is  the  olive-tree 
—  the  emblem  of  fruitfulness  and  of  peace ;  a  branch  of 
which,  in  the  mouth  of  the  dove,  is  everywhere  the  emblem 
of  peace.  Another  symbol  of  the  believer  is  the  palm-tree  ; 
which,  the  more  it  is  cut  and  crushed,  buds  and  shoots  the 
more  vigorously.  Another  is  the  branch  of  the  vine,  —  not 
tied  to  it,  but  part  and  parcel  of  the  stem ;  and  just  as  the 
sap  from  the  parent  trunk  permeates  the  branches  and 
makes  them  bear  fruit,  so  does  the  Spirit  of  Christ  animate 
all  believers,  and  make  them  bear  "  the  peaceable  fruit  of 
righteousness."  Believers,  again,  are  compared  to  the 
cedars  of  Lebanon,  to  denote  stability,  for  the  cedar  outlives 
many  a  hurricane  ;  to  denote  fragrance,  the  well-known  prop- 
erty of  its  wood ;  to  denote  perpetuity,  for  it  is  also  the  most 
durable.  Believers  are  termed  jewels :  "  They  shall  be 
mine,  saith  God,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels." 
A  jewel  is  a  rough  unseemly  lump,  when  found  in  its  parent 
matrix ;  but  it  is  extracted  from  the  earth,  undergoes  a  pro- 
cess of  purification,  is  subjected  to  the  polisher,  and  then 
reflects  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens.  So  with  the 
believer :  at  first  "  of  the  earth,  earthy,"  and  undistinguisha- 
ble  from  others,  but  selected  by  the  wisdom,  and  chosen  by 
the  good  pleasure  of  God,  he  is  subjected  to  the  discipHne  — 
it  may  be  of  sickness,  it  may  be  of  affliction,  but  all  under 
the  Spirit  of  God  —  and  at  last,  is  made  to  reflect  the  beams, 


262  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

not  of  a  sun  whose  fountain  shall  be  dried  up,  but  of  that 
Sun  whose  beams  are  healing,  and  whose  rays  are  destined 
to  illumine  all  creation.  We  have  a  mountain  in  Scotland, 
called  Cairngorm  —  literally  the  blue  mountain  —  on  which 
are  found  valuable  rock  crystals  ;  and  the  way  in  which  the 
Highlanders  gather  the  stones,  called  Cairngorms,  is  this : 
when  there  is  a  sun-burst  after  a  violent  shower,  they  go 
and  look  along  the  whole  brow  of  the  mountain,  for  certain 
sparkling  spots  ;  the  shower  having  washed  away  the  loose 
earth,  the  sunbeams  light  upon  and  are  reflected  from  the 
precious  stones,  and  thus  they  are  detected.  It  is  just  God's 
way  of  bringing  forth  his  own  —  his  "jewels."  Affliction 
lays  them  bare ;  but  while  it  washes  from  them  all  that  is 
of  the  earth,  it  brings  them  in  contact  with  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness,  and  prepares  them  to  reflect  the  glories  of 
redemption  in  time,  and  in  eternity  to  be  set,  as  gems  he 
has  selected  and  made  brilliant,  in  his  amaranthine  and  fade- 
less crown. 

One  single  text,  which  describes  the  whole  Church  of 
Christ,  is  fatal,  in  my  judgment,  to  all  Tractarian  and  all 
Komish  pretensions:  "Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  Name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  It 
is  not  multitude  that  makes  the  Christian  assembly ;  Christ 
meets  a  few  in  the  "  upper  room,"  as  well  as  the  thousands 
that  crowd  the  spacious  edifice :  the  essential  requirement  is 
—  "  in  my  Name."  Whether  you  meet  in  a  garret  or  in  a 
cathedral,  in  a  chapel  or  in  a  church,  if  it  be  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  you  constitute  a  section  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
may  expect  his  blessing.  Not  that  I  discountenance  places 
set  apart  for  sacred  purposes ;  not  that  I  am  opposed  to  reg- 
ularity in  a  duly  constituted  church  ;  not  that  I  disapprove 
of  an  order  of  ministers,  for  I  hold  this  to  be  God's  ap- 
pointment ;  but  this,  I  do  notwithstanding  maintain,  is  the 
essential  of  a  church  —  "  two  or  three  gathered  together  in 
Christ's  name."     If  those  who  are  thus  met  are  lookinoj  to 


THE   NICENE   CHURCH.  263 

him  as  a  Priest  to  plead  for  them,  as  a  Prophet  to  teach 
them,  as  a  King  to  rule  them,  there  is  substantially,  and  in 
the  sight  of  God,  a  true  portion  of  the  Church  of  the  living 
God. 

In  this  text,  also,  we  see  the  true  safety  of  the  Church. 
It  is  not  the  fathers  in  her  bosom,  it  is  not  the  Nicene  linea- 
ments transferred  to  her ;  it  is  Christ  in  the  midst  of  her. 
If  all  the  laws  that  establish  the  Church  of  England,  or 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  were  abolished  to-morrow,  these 
churches  would  not  fall,  for  Christ  is  in  the  midst  of  them : 
nay,  if  the  days  of  persecution,  and  proscription,  and  blood- 
shed, were  to  return,  the  lofty  hills  and  the  tangled  forests 
would  become  Zion's  defence,  and  the  steep  rocks  her  pali- 
sadoes,  because  the  living  God  is  her  strength  and  her  ally. 
And  in  this,  too,  behold  the  true  unity  of  the  church: 
wherever  souls  rally  round  Christ  as  their  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King,  there  they  are  one.  They  may  differ  in  circum- 
stantials, they  may  be  divided  in  non-essentials ;  but  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  by  the  standard  of  the  sanctuary,  they  are 
truly  one.  And  lastly,  in  this,  see  the  true  glory  of  the 
Church.  It  is  not  the  eloquence  that  speaks  from  the  pul- 
pit ;  it  is  not  the  coronets  that  sparkle  in  the  pew ;  it  is  not 
the  riches  that  are  poured  into  the  plate  ;  it  is  not  the  em- 
broidery that  is  heaped  upon  her  shrines  ;  nor  is  it  the  gold 
that  is  piled  upon  her  altars.  It  is  Christ  in  the  midst, 
that  is  the  ground  of  her  unity,  the  element  of  her  endur- 
ance, her  glory  in  time,  and  her  portion  in  eternity. 


••ret  f»iaumm-^ 


[204] 


LECTURE    X. 

THE    BIBLE,   NOT    TRADITION. 

In  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  rule  of  faith  —  that 
is,  the  standard  by  which  all  doctrines  are  to  be  tested,  and 
all  opinions  determined  —  is  not  the  Bible  alone,  but  the 
"  Bible  and  tradition :  and  both  these,  propounded  and  ex- 
pounded by  what  is  called  the  Church."  Among  the  Trac- 
tarians,  or  Romanizing  Protestants,  (if  the  name  Protestant 
may  at  all  be  applied  to  them,)  the  Rule  of  Faith  is  the  Bi- 
ble, and  the  universal  voice  of  Catholic  antiquity ;  and  both 
set  before  you  and  taught  on  the  authority  of  the  Church. 
There  is  a  difference  in  words,  there  is  substantially  no  dif- 
ference in  principle,  between  the  rule  of  faith  laid  down  in 
the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  that  laid  down  by 
the  Tractarian  divines ;  and  it  will  be  obvious,  that  in  dis- 
cussing the  merits  of  the  one,  I  am  really  canvassing  those 
of  the  other  also  ;  and  that  whatever  tends  to  overthrow  the 
foundations  of  the  former,  must  of  necessity  sap  and  under- 
mine the  pretensions  of  the  latter. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Protestant  Rule  of  Faith  is  —  not 
as  Protestants  frequently  express  it,  and  as  Roman  Catho- 
lics generally  urge  it,  the  Bible  explained  by  every  man's 
private  judgment,  but  —  the  Bible  alone,  without  note 
or  comment,  or  any  thing  extrinsic  to  itself.  This  is  the 
only  standard  of  appeal  which  a  Protestant  can  recognize ; 
and  as  long  as  he  keeps  within  the  circumference  of  the  Bi- 
ble, he  is  on  impregnable  ground,  but  the  instant  that  he 
goes  beyond  the  Bible,  and  allows  that  the  opinion  of  Scott 


THE   BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  265 

or  Henry,  or  the  comments  of  the  Anglican  or  the  Scottish 
or  any  other  church,  form  part  and  parcel  of  the  Rule  of 
Faith,  he  has  left  "  the  munition  of  rocks,"  where  no  power 
can  dislodge  him,  and  he  has  placed  himself  upon  Roman 
Catholic  ground,  and  must,  if  consistent,  terminate  his 
downward  course  in  the  full  reception  of  Roman  Catholic 
dogmas. 

And  whether,  on  the  one  side,  the  term  used  be  the  voice 
of  antiquity,  or  the  opinion  of  the  Catholic  Church,  or  tra- 
dition, or  the  consent  of  the  fathers,  they  all  substantially 
resolve  themselves  into  a  continuous  tradition,  circulated  and 
transmitted  from  age  to  age,  until  the  present  moment. 

Now,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  from  the  very  com- 
mencement of  Scripture  to  its  close,  we  are  never  taught 
that  there  is  any  value  in  oral  tradition ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  are  incessantly  warned  to  beware  of  it.  Now,  this  is  an 
a  priori  presumption,  that  it  is  not  to  be  trusted  —  at  least 
to  the  extent  to  which  the  Tractarians  and  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics rely  on  it.  We  are  continually  warned  in  Scripture, 
to  be  on  our  guard  against  the  traditions  of  men ;  we  are 
not  directed  to  revere  and  pay  equal  deference  to  Scripture 
and  unwritten  traditions. 

Oral  tradition,  let  me  here  observe,  presupposes  a  number 
of  things  which  never  have  existed,  do  not  now  exist,  and 
are  never  likely  to  exist.  It  presupposes  perfect  memories, 
adequate  to  retain  what  is  intrusted  to  them ;  perfect  faith- 
fulness, to  transmit,  without  subtraction  or  addition,  what  has 
been  received ;  and  a  perfect  and  pure  moral  character,  not 
to  bias  or  distort  in  the  least  the  sacred  truths  which  are  to 
be  conveyed  to  others.  In  no  age  in  the  history  of  man, 
since  the  Fall,  has  a  perfect  memory  existed ;  —  in  no  age 
have  men  been  so  immaculate,  so  untainted,  and  undefiled, 
that  we  could  believe  without  doubt  that  they  would  trans- 
mit uncontaminated  to  others  the  sacred  truths  which  un- 
veiled their  sins  and  condemned  them;  and  during  whole 
23 


266  THE    GREAT    ArOSTASY. 

centuries,  we  know  the  corruption  of  the  Church  has  been 
so  entire,  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  Annals  of  Baronins,  and 
in  the  History  of  Dupin,  that  its  priests,  so  far  from  being 
fit  and  suitable  conductors  of  sacred  truths,  were  the  most 
unsuitable  and  unfit  that  could  possibly  be  selected.  If 
water  cannot  be  transmitted  pure  and  untainted  through  a 
defiled  and  corrupted  channel,  we  must  equally  believe  that 
the  pure  and  living  streams  of  truth,  which  come  originally 
from  the  fulness  of  God,  cannot  (even  if  committed  to  them) 
have  been  conveyed  pure  and  untainted  through  imperfect 
memories,  damaged  consciences,  immoral  conduct  —  through 
men,  in  short,  whom  Baronius,  one  of  themselves,  pro- 
nounces to  have  been  worthy  of  the  name  of  Apostate,  rather 
than  of  Apostolicals. 

There  is  in  Scripture  a  very  early  record  of  an  instance 
of  the  distorting  nature  and  tendency  of  tradition ;  and  at 
the  same  time  an  exemplification  of  the  corrective  power  of 
the  word  of  God.  In  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  at  the  close 
of  that  most  beautiful  and  interesting,  because  inspired 
biography,  we  read,  that  "  Peter,  seeing  John,  saith  to  Jesus, 
Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  Jesus  saith  unto  him. 
If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  fol- 
low thou  me.  Then  went  this  saying  abroad  (a  tradition) 
among  the  brethren,  that  that  disciple  should  not  die."  Our 
Lord,  as  is  evident,  made  no  promise,  he  merely  stated  an 
hypothesis :  but  tradition,  with  its  natural  tendency  to  mag- 
nify, distort,  and  misstate,  altered  the  hypothetical  statement 
into  a  positive  prediction.  But  mark  the  corrective  power 
of  "  the  law  and  the  testimony,"  by  which  tradition  was 
nipped  in  its  bud ;  for  it  is  beautifully  added  —  "  Yet  Jesus 
said  not  unto  him.  He  shall  not  die ;  but,  If  I  will  that  he 
tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  " 

A  strong  presumption  against  tradition  being  any  part  of 
the  channel  of  truth  to  us,  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  there  is 
no  divine  appointment  of  an  order  of  men  for  the  express 


THE    BIBLE,   NOT    TRADITION.  267 

purpose  of  transmitting  tradition.  Under  the  ancient  Leviti- 
cal  economy,  an  order  of  men  was  expressly  instituted  for 
continuing  the  morning  and  evening  and  yearly  sacrifices ; 
and  under  the  New  Testament  economy,  there  is  presented 
an  order  of  men  whose  function  it  is  to  "  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature,"  and  to  minister  the  sacraments.  But 
there  is  not  the  least  intimation  of  an  order  or  class  of  men 
to  whom  were  to  be  intrusted  certain  isoteric  or  secret  com- 
munications, which  they  were  to  transmit  to  their  successors, 
as  the  necessary  lights  that  are  to  illuminate  the  sacred  page, 
and  amid  the  unerring  rays  of  which  we  should  see  and 
comprehend  all  truth. 

It  has,  too,  been  found  to  be  an  invariable  result,  that 
ever  as  man  has  admitted  tradition  to  a  level  with  Scripture, 
the  balance  has  not  been  long  maintained :  by  and  by  Scrip- 
ture has  been  depressed,  and  tradition  exalted  far  above  it. 
Admit  a  human  element  into  connection  and  coequality  with 
that  which  is  divine,  and  by  and  by  the  divine  element  shriv- 
els or  dies  by  the  contact,  and  the  human  alone  survives. 
Here  especially  it  seems  to  be  true,  that  "  no  man  can  serve 
two  masters."  You  cannot  bow  to  the  Scriptures  on  the 
right  hand,  and  recognize  tradition  on  the  left  as  equal ;  you 
must  keep  the  one  and  dismiss  the  other ;  and  it  needs  no 
seer's  or  prophet's  eye  to  tell  which  will  be  retained  and 
which  dismissed.  Tradition,  full  of  all  that  chimes  in  with 
man's  fallen  and  corrupt  propensities,  ever  ready  to  min- 
ister apologies  for  his  sins,  and  occasions  for  the  indulgence 
of  his  appetites,  will  gain  the  mastery :  Scripture,  on  the 
contrary,  rebuking  our  sins  in  the  tones  of  a  judge,  and  pro- 
claiming our  duties  in  the  accents  of  an  authoritative  master, 
becomes  hateful  to  the  natural  man.  It  is  clear  that  the 
natural  heart  will  prefer  that  which  tells  it  smooth  things, 
and  will  shrink  from  that  which  speaks  what  it  calls  evil 
concerning  it.  Scripture,  which  is  God's  word,  is  soon  tram- 
pled under  foot,  and  tradition,  which  is  man's  word  (as  ia 


268  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  Church  of  Rome),  becomes  practically  and  substantially 
the  only  and  conclusi\  e  rule  of  faith. 

In  order  now  to  present  some  specimens  of  the  mind  of 
God  on  the  subject  of  tradition,  I  will  quote  a  few  texts. 
Ezekiel  xx.  18,  19  :  "  Walk  ye  not  in  the  statutes  of  your 
fathers,  neither  observe  their  judgments,  nor  defile  your- 
selves with  their  idols :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God ;  walk  in 
my  statutes,  and  keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them."  That 
is  so  say.  Do  not  follow  the  fathers  in  their  devious  courses, 
guided  by  the  flickering  taper  of  tradition :  but  come  afresh 
"  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony,"  just  as  if  a  previous  gen- 
eration had  never  existed,  and  take  thence  the  tone  of  your 
character  and  the  direction  of  your  career.  Matthew  xv. 
1,  2 :  "  Then  came  to  Jesus  scribes  and  Pharisees,  which 
were  of  Jerusalem,  saying,  Why  do  thy  disciples  transgress 
the  tradition  of  the  elders  ?  "  For  at  the  close  of  the  Jew- 
ish economy,  tradition,  by  its  necessary  tendency,  had  come 
to  be  all;  and  Scripture,  being  uncongenial  to  man's  de- 
praved heart,  had  come  to  be  depressed.  This  was  a  purely 
Koman  Catholic  question ;  and  the  reply  of  our  Lord  was  a 
purely  Protestant  reply  —  "Why  do  you  also  transgress  the 
commandment  of  God  by  your  tradition  ?  "  Mark  vii.  5-7  : 
"  The  Pharisees  and  scribes  asked  him.  Why  walk  not  thy 
disciples  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  elders,  but  eat 
bread  with  unwashen  hands  ?  He  answered  and  said  unto 
them.  Well  hath  Esaias  prophesied  of  you,  hypocrites,  as  it 
is  written.  This  people  honoreth  me  with  their  lips,  but  their 
heart  is  far  from  me ;  howbeit,  in  vain  do  they  worship  me, 
teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men  ; "  — ■ 
another  very  express  and  decisive  rebuke  for  deferring  to 
tradition,  and  departing  from  the  precepts  and  doctrines  of 
God.  Again:  1  Peter  i.  18:  "Ye  were  not  redeemed  with 
corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold,  from  your  vain  con- 
versation received  by  tradition  from  your  fathers,  but  with 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ."     We  associate  this  beautiful 


THE    BIBLE,   NOT    TRADITION.  269 

announcement  with  redemption  from  sin  —  and  we  do  well ; 
but  one  great  result  of  the  atoning  blood  of  the  Son  of  God 
was  redemption,  not  merely  from  the  condemnation  of  sin, 
but  from  the  bondage  of  the  traditions  and  commandments 
of  men :  and  that  man,  in  one  respect,  sins  against  the  re- 
deeming blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  elevates  the  tradi- 
tions and  commandments  of  men  to  a  level  with  the  precepts 
and  doctrines  of  God,  just  as  that  man  sins  against  the 
cleansing  blood  of  Christ,  who  continues  in  the  practice  of 
sin  because  grace  hath  abounded. 

In  the  next  place,  the  Scriptures  invariably  declare  and 
urge  their  own  sufficiency  as  a  rule  of  faith.  There  can 
therefore  be  no  necessity  for  any  traditions.  If  the  sun,  as 
he  shines  in  the  firmament,  is  sufficient  to  direct  the  foot- 
steps of  the  traveller,  it  is  altogether  unnecessary  to  intro- 
duce the  glowworm,  or  to  light  up  the  evening  tapers  at 
noonday ;  and  if  Scripture  assert  itself  to  be  perfectly  suffi- 
cient as  a  rule  of  faith  to  men,  and  to  ministers  too,  it 
is  clear  that  nothing  beside,  oral  or  written,  is  necessary  to 
guide  us  to  heaven.  "  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  able  to 
make  thee  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  2  Tim.  iii.  15 ;  and  if  this  be  so,  we  Protest- 
ants must  be  right,  because  the  Bible  is  sufficient  "  to  make 
us  wise  unto  salvation,"  while  Roman  Catholics  may  be 
wrong  (to  go  no  further)  in  mixing  up  alien  elements  with 
that  which  is  sufficient.  In  the  next  verse,  —  "All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness." And  what  is  the  result?  "That  the  man  of 
God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good 
works."  "What  necessity,  then,  can  there  be  for  tradi- 
tion? Cardinal  Wiseman,  I  know,  asserts,  that  "man  of 
God  "  means,  not  a  private  Christian,  but  a  priest,  a  minis- 
ter of  the  Gospel ;  I  think  he  is  right,  and  that  his  is  the 
true  interpretation  of  this  text.  But  his  deduction,  that 
23* 


270  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

therefore  the  laity  should  not  read  the  Scriptures,  is  not 
therefore  right  also.  If  the  Scriptures  are  adequate  to 
make  a  minister  "  perfect,"  which  is  the  greater  re'sult,  they 
are,  a  fortiori,  adequate  to  make  a  layman  perfect,  who  has 
no  need  of  such  extensive  erudition ;  and  therefore,  taking 
the  construction  which  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  puts 
upon  the  text,  it  proves  the  Scripture  sufficient  to  make 
perfect  the  greater,  and,  consequently,  the  less  also.  Again : 
Psalm  xix.  7,  "  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting 
the  soul,"  —  the  great  object  we  are  all  anxious  to  attain : 
"  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the  sim- 
ple ; "  and  if  alone  adequate  to  this  blessed  result,  I  cannot 
see  what  need  we  have  of  tradition  also.  John  xvii.  3, 
"This  is  life* eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent;"  and 
John  XX.  31,  "  These  are  written,  that  ye  might  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believing,  ye 
might  have  life  through  his  name : "  and  if  this  could  be 
said  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  alone,  it  must  be  still  more 
true,  that  the  whole  New  Testament  is  able  to  accomplish 
these  results.  Romans  xv.  4,  "Whatsoever  things  were 
written  aforetime,  were  written  for  our  learning,  that  we, 
through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures,  might  have 
hope."  I  contend,  that  these  texts  fairly  and  clearly  make 
out  the  self-asserted  sufficiency  of  Scripture  to  make  the 
Christian  wise  to  everlasting  life. 

I  will  now  endeavor  to  prove,  by  a  few  texts,  that  the 
Scriptures  alone  are  the  decisive  standard  of  appeal  in  all 
questions  respecting  truth  and  error.  The  very  first  proof 
I  adduce  is  the  text ;  for  if  the  statements  of  a  prophet, 
commissioned  from  the  throne  of  God,  were  to  be  tested 
and  tried  by  "  the  law  and  the  testimony,"  much  more  must 
those  of  an  ordinary  minister  of  the  Gospel,  who  claims  no 
supernal  inspiration,  and  no  personal  infallibility.  Joshua 
xxiii.  6,  "  Be  ye  therefore  very  courageous,  to  keep  and  do 


THE    BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  271 

all  that  is  written  in  the  Book  of  the  law  of  Moses,  that  ye 
turn  not  aside  therefrom,  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left ; " 
they  were  to  bring  all  religious  questions  and  perplexities, 
neither  to  tradition  on  the  right  nor  to  the  Church  on  the 
left,  but  only  to  the  statutes  and  the  laws  of  their  God. 
Mark  xii.  24,  "  Do  ye  not  therefore  err,  because  ye  know 
not  the  Scriptures,  neither  the  power  of  God  ?  "  —  so  that 
the  cause  of  error  and  wrong  judgment  is  ignorance  of  the 
Scriptures.  Luke  xvi.  29,  "  They  have  Moses  and  the 
Prophets ;  let  them  hear  them."  The  rich  man  had  said, 
"  I  have  brothers  and  sisters  upon  earth,  and  if  some  spirit 
were  to  go  from  the  realms  of  glory,  fragrant  with  the  per- 
fDmes  and  robed  with  the  light  of  the  blessed  land,  and 
were  to  speak  with  angel's  tongue  of  its  harmonies,  its  joys, 
its  happiness,  and  its  deep  peace,  my  brothers  would  be  so 
impressed  that  they  would  believe  and  live ;  or  if  a  spirit 
were  to  rise  from  the  depths  of  hell,  and  to  tell  forth,  in  the 
hearing  of  mortality,  the  secrets  of  its  awful  prisonhouse, 
tliey  would  surely  hear  and  believe ; "  but  our  Lord  replies, 
tliat  this  would  be  of  no  service  (as  far  as  instruction  and 
direction  are  involved)  to  those  who  ought  to  appeal  to  the 
word  of  God,  and  that  if  granted,  it  would  fail  to  convince 
and  convert  them ;  and  if  this  was  true  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, much  more  surely  is  it  true  of  the  Old  and  New  com- 
bined. Acts  xvii.  11,  "These  were  more  noble  than  those 
in  Thessalonica,  in  that  they  received  the  word  Avith  all 
readiness  of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily, 
whether  those  things  were  so;  they  recognized  only  one 
standard  of  appeal,  and  to  it  they  brought  even  an  apostle's 
preaching.  If  a  Roman  Catholic  were  to  go  home  and  test 
his  priest's  preaching  by  the  Douay  Bible,  he  would  be  told 
that  he  was  becoming  a  heretic,  or  had  already  ceased  to  be 
a  Catholic ;  but  the  Bereans,  instead  of  being  told  that  by 
searching  the  Scriptures  they  would  become  more  deeply 
rooted  Jews  or  idolaters,  are  commejided  as  "  more  noble  " 


272  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

in  doing  so.  If  you  mark  the  conduct  of  our  Lord,  on 
various  occasions,  you  will  find  him  constantly  appealing  t<? 
the  word  of  God  for  an  answer  to  every  question  ;  for 
instead  of  saying,  "  My  word  is  law,  and  I  tell  you  this  i? 
truth,  and  that  is  error,"  his  answ^er  ever  was,  "  How  read- 
est  thou  ?  "  "  What  saith  the  Scriptures  ?  "  "  Have  ye  not 
read?"  "  Search  the  Scriptures."  And  even  after  he  had 
risen  from  the  dead,  instead  of  saying,  '  I  will  lay  before 
you  the  secrets  of  heaven,  and  divulge  new  mysteries,' 
"  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  Prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning  him- 
self." When  Satan  tempted  him  in  the  wilderness,  (and 
Satan  knew  who  he  was,  for  he  has  never  lapsed  into 
heresy,  he  has  never  denied  the  deity  of  our  blessed  Lord, 
he  "  believes  and  trembles,")  he  was  not  thrust  aside  by  the 
arm  of  Omnipotence,  or  "  I  say,"  or  blasted  with  the  light- 
ning's flash  of  penetrating  Omniscience;  he  was  repelled 
with  a  simple  —  "It  is  written  —  it  is  written."  Words 
cannot  express  the  honor  that  the  Lord  of  Glory  poured 
upon  the  Sacred  Volume  throughout  his  pilgrimage  of 
tears ;  to  this  standard  he  ever  appealed  for  his  replies,  and 
to  this  tribunal  he  submitted  all  his  teachings. 

It  is  the  people's  duty  and  privilege  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  fourth  rule  of  the  Index  of  the  Council  of 
Trent  says,  that  "  forasmuch  as  the  reading  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  vulgar  tongue,"  (the  language  of  the  country  in 
which  they  are  circulated,)  "  has  been  productive  of  more 
evil  than  good,  it  is  expedient  that  they  be  not  translated 
into  the  vulgate,  or  read  or  possessed  by  any  one  without  a 
written  license  from  the  inquisitor  or  the  bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese." This  is  the  law  now  binding  in  the  Church  of  Rome  ; 
and  in  the  celebrated  bull  Unigenitus,  containing  one  hun- 
dred and  one  propositions  extracted  from  the  writings  of 
Quesnel,  which  are  therein  denounced  as  heterodox  and 
heretical,  it  is  said  in  one  of  these  propositions,  quoted  in 


THE    BIBLE,   NOT    TRADITION.  273 

the  bull  from  Quesnel,  "  The  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures is  for  all  men,"  and  "  to  forbid  Christians  the  reading 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  to  interdict  the  use  of  light  to  the 
sons  of  light ; "  again,  "  It  is  necessary  and  useful  at  all 
times  and  in  every  place,  and  for  all  sorts  of  people,  to 
study  and  know  the  spirit,  piety,  and  mysteries  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures."  On  these  the  following  judgment  is  pronounced 
by  Clement  in  the  bull  Unigenitus;  and  this  bull,  by  the 
admission  of  Doyle  and  Murray,  Irish  Roman  Catholic 
Bishops,  is  obligatory  in  Ireland :  "  We  declare  and  con- 
demn, and  reprobate  these  as  false,  captious,  ill-sounding, 
offensive  to  pious  ears ;  impious,  blasphemous,  suspected  of 
heresy  and  savoring  of  heresy  (suspectas  de  hceresi  ac  hasre- 
sim  ipsam  sapientes)."  In  1842,  the  Bishop  of  Bruges,  in 
Belgium,  issued  an  episcopal  or  circular  letter,  condemning 
the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  language  of  Bel- 
gium,* and  among  the  poor  people. 

The  text  most  frequently  quoted  by  Roman  Catholics,  as 
a  proof  that  the  people  ought  not  to  read  the  Scriptures,  is, 
2  Peter  iii.  16:  "As  also  in  all  his  epistles,  speaking  in 
them  of  these  things ;  in  which  are  some  things  hard  to  be 
understood,  which  they  that  are  unlearned  and  unstable 
wrest,  as  they  do  also  the  other  Scriptures,  unto  their  own 
destruction."  Now,  in  the  first  place,  the  "  things  hard  to 
be  understood  "  are  not  said  to  be  in  "  the  epistles  "  gener- 
ally, or  the  Scriptures,  but  among  those  things  which  the 
Apostle  Paul  had  written  respecting  the  coming  of  the  Lord : 
it  is  not  in  the  feminine  gender  tv  alg,  but  the  neuter  iv  oTg : 

*  Nothing,  let  me  here  remark,  in  passing,  gave  me  greater  delight,  while 
wandering  through  that  country  some  time  ago,  than  to  find  a  colporteur, 
employed  by  the  Bible  Society,  walking  among  the  cafes  and  stalls,  press- 
ing on  the  people  the  value  of  the  Bible;  he  came  to  me,  and  supposing 
me  a  Roman  Catholic,  began  to  speak  to  me  of  the  New  Testament,  which 
he  wished  me  to  purchase;  I  did  purchase  it,  but  explained  to  him,  that 
that  Bible  was  in  my  heart  before  I  took  it  froin  his  hand,  and  I  wished 
him  God  speed  in  his  truly  sublime  work. 


274 


THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 


"  among  wliich  subjects  are  some  liard  to  be  understood." 
In  the  next  place,  the  Roman  Catholic  acts  inconsistently 
and  absurdly  in  concluding  that  because  some  "  wrest  these 
things  to  their  own  destruction,"  therefore  we  are  to  take 
the  Scriptures  from  the  people.  The  incendiary  abuses  fire, 
but  we  are  not  tlierefore  to  abjure  its  warmth  :  fire  con- 
sumed the  Tower,  and  the  Exchange,  and  the  Houses  of 
Parliament,  and  annually  destroys  much  valuable  property, 
but  this  arises  from  careless  neglect,  and  not  from  the  legiti- 
mate use  of  it ;  but  it  never  can  be  seriously  alleged,  that 
the  abuse  of  the  blessings  of  Providence  is  a  fair  argument 
for  rejecting  the  use  of  them  altogether.  But  this  text,  in- 
stead of  proving  the  apostolic  refusal  of  the  Scriptures  to  the 
laity,  proves  the  very  reverse  ;  for  how  could  the  people 
have  "  wrested  the  Scriptures  to  their  own  destruction,"  in 
the  days  of  Paul  and  Peter,  if  they  had  not  been  in  the 
habit  of  then  reading  them  ?  and  if  they  read  them  in  the 
apostolic  age,  I  cannot  see  why  we  are  not  to  read  them 
now.  But  after  his  admission  of  a  practical  abuse,  what 
prescription  does  the  apostle  propose  ?  Does  he  say,  "  Cast 
them  aside,  do  not  read  them  any  more,  put  your  judgment 
in  the  hands  of  the  priest,  and  believe  nothing  beyond  what 
he  says  ?  "  No  ;  he  virtually  counsels.  Read  the  Scriptures 
more,  and  ydu  will  "  wrest  them  "  less  :  "  but  grow  in  grace 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 
It  is  ignorance  of  Scripture  that  leads  to  the  perversion 
of  it.  It  is  not  therefore  proved  from  this  scripture  that  the 
Scriptures  are  to  be  the  exclusive  property  of  the  priest,  and 
not  the  privilege  of  the  people  also.*  "  Prove  all  things  ; 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good." 

Our  blessed  Lord's  express  commandment  is,  —  "  Search 
the  Scriptures."  I  recollect  the  use  which  an  Irish  Scrip- 
ture reader  made  of  this  beautiful  injunction.    He  was  read- 

*  We  Protestants  of  course  condemn  "wresting"  the  Scriptures,  and 
never  give  them  to  be  thus  treated,  but  to  be  read  prayerfully  and  humbly. 


THE   BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  275 

^«g  the  Scriptures  in  a  cabin  to  some  poor  Roman  Catholics, 
who  were  hearing  with  delight  of  "  the  wonderful  works  of 
God,"  when  the  priest  of  the  district  came  in,  and  asked 
him,  in  a  most  dictatorial  tone  —  "  How  dare  you  read  the 
Scriptures  to  any  of  my  flock  ?  "  "  Please  your  reverence," 
said  the  man,  with  the  readiness  for  which  an  Irishman  is 
always  distinguished,  "  I  have  got  a  search  warrant  to  do  it." 
"  Produce  it,"  said  the  priest ;  "  I  am  sure  it  cannot  be  from 
the  bishop,  or  from  his  Holiness  the  Pope."  "  No,"  said  the 
Scripture  reader,  "it  is  from  God,  and  here  it  is  —  John  v. 
39  :  'Search  tlie  Scriptures/" 

Let  us  see  how  God  commanded  his  ancient  people  to 
keep  the  Scriptures  continually  before  them.  Deuteronomy 
vi.  7,  "  These  words,  whicli  I  command  this  day,  shall  be  in 
thine  heart,  and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy 
children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine 
house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou 
liest  down,  and  when  ihou  risest  up ;  and  thou  shalt  bind 
them  for  a  sign  upon  thine  hand,  and  they  shall  be  as  front- 
lets between  thine  eyes,  and  thou  shalt  write  them  upon 
the  posts  of  thy  house,  and  on  thy  gates."  Isaiah  xxxiv.  16, 
"  Seek  ye  out  of  tlie  book  of  the  Lord,  and  read."  Luke  xi. 
28,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep 
it."  2  Peter  i.  19,  "We  have  also  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy,  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed."  I  find 
that  the  king  on  his  throne,  and  amidst  his  council,  is  to  read 
the  Scriptures:  Deuteronomy  xvii.  18,  "It  shall  be,  when 
he  sitteth  upon  the  throne  of  his  kingdom,  that  the  copy  of 
this  law  shall  be  with  him,  and  he  shall  read  therein  all  the 
days  of  his  life."  I  find,  that  the  commander  of  an  army  is 
not  exempted  from  the  duty  of  reading  the  Scriptures  ;  for 
it  was  said  to  Joshua  (i.  8.)  —  "  This  book  of  the  law  shall 
not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  but  thou  shalt  meditate  therein 
day  and  night."  A  prime  minister,  with  all  his  toils  and 
cares,  is  not  to  neglect  the  Scriptures,  —  and  probably,  if 


276  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

prime  ministers  of  all  parties  studied  God's  word  as  much 
as  the  mere  rules  and  laws  of  human  expediency,  they  might 
rule  and  govern  more  justly  and  successfully.  We  read 
(Acts  viii.  28),  "that  a  man  of  Ethiopia,  of  great  authority 
under  Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  who  had  the  charge 
of  all  her  treasure,"  traveUing  in  his  chariot,  "  read  Esaias 
the  prophet."  And  this  is  the  attribute  of  true  nobility,  as 
we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  the  Bereans  ;  it  is  not  a  crown 
that  makes  a  king,  nor  a  coronet  that  makes  a  noble,  nor  a 
cassock  or  a  surplice  that  consecrates  a  priest.  True  roy- 
alty reposes  in  being  kings  and  priests  unto  God  ;  true  no- 
bility, in  searching  and  treasuring  up  a  knowledge  of  God's 
word ;  and  a  true  ministry,  whatever  be  its  shape,  in  the 
faithful  study,  appreciation,  and  utterance  of  God's  truth. 
So  again,  2  Timothy  iii.  15  :  "  From  a  child  thou  hast  known 
the  Holy  Scriptures."  St.  James  addresses  his  Epistle,  not 
to  the  clergy  only,  but  to  the  Twelve  Tribes  which  are  scat- 
tered abroad.  St.  Peter  wrote,  not  to  the  ministers  only, 
but  to  "  the  strangers  scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia, 
Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia ; "  St.  John,  to  "  fathers," 
"  young  men,"  and  "  children,"  and  he  addressed  an  Epistle 
"to  the  elect  lady  and  her  children."  In  Colossians  iv.  16, 
also,  we  find  it  said,  "  When  this  Epistle  is  read  amongst 
you,  cause  that  it  be  read  also  in  the  Church  of  the  Laodi- 
ceans,  and  that  ye  likewise  read  the  Epistle  from  Laodicea." 
These  texts  triumphantly  prove,  that  it  is  our  duty  and 
our  privilege  to  read  the  Scriptures.  Permission  to  read 
the  Scriptures,  as  Pome  speaks,  is  insult.  How  dares  that 
Church  talk  of  "  permission  "  to  read  the  Scriptures !  "  Per- 
mit "  me  to  enjoy  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  the  firmament ! 
"  Permit "  me  to  breathe  the  atmosphere  of  heaven !  "  Per- 
mit "  me  to  drink  from  earth's  pure  and  exhaustless  foun- 
tains !  The  very  word  is  wrongdoing  to  man,  treason  and 
blasphemy  against  God.  This  book  is  an  epistle  from  my 
Father  to  me,  an  exile  in  a  distant  land ;  and  the  very  fact, 


THE   BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  277 

fRat  it  is  a  letter  addressed  to  me  from  that  Father  whom  1 
love,  and  in  whose  bosom  I  have  reposed  my  hope,  my  hap- 
piness, my  soul,  is  warrant  enough  to  me  for  treasuring  it 
up  with  all  the  care  and  affection  of  a  son,  reading  it  when 
I  lie  down,  and  studying  it  when  I  rise  up. 

I  now  proceed  to  a  part  of  the  subject  which  Roman 
Catholics  make  a  great  deal  of.  Having  listened  to  all  these 
passages  of  Scripture,  and  unable  to  vindicate  their  false 
faith,  they  turn  upon  us  and  say  —  "Ah!  you  forget  that 
you  are  indebted  to  us  for  the  Bible ;  and  if  we  have  been 
the  guardians  of  the  Bible  in  every  age,  and  have  transmit- 
ted it  to  you,  how  can  you  dare  to  say  that  we  are  not  the 
true  Church,  and  tliereby  not  the  only  authorized  interpre- 
ters of  it?" 

Now,  if  the  Church  of  Rome  has  been  the  transmitter  of 
the  Bible  to  us,  we  praise  that  God,  who  was  pleased  to 
make  so  treacherous  a  body  the  instrument  of  conveying  so 
sacred  a  deposit.  But  when  she  alleges  that  the  supposed 
fact,  that  she  gave  us  tlie  Scriptures,  is  a  ground  why  we 
should  bow  to  her  interpretation  of  them,  I  must  answer, 
The  Jews  transmitted  the  Old  Testament  to  our  Lord  and 
his  Apostles,  but  this  was  not  admitted  as  a  reason  for  re- 
garding the  Jews  as  infallible  or  authoritative  interpreters 
of  tlie  Scripture ;  their  actual  interpretation  was  that  Christ 
should  be  crucified.  But  we  deny  that  tlie  Church  of  Rome 
alone  transmitted  the  Scriptures  to  us.  We  have  no  objec- 
tion to  admit,  that  the  Roman,  with  other  contemporaneous 
Churches,  intentionally  or  otherwise,  preserved  and  handed 
down  copies  of  them  ;  but  if  she  says,  "  You  shall  not  have 
them  from  my  hand,  unless  you  will  take  my  interpretation 
of  them,"  I  answer,  "Then  I  will  appeal  to  the  Greek 
Church  for  the  gift  which  you  refuse,  or  offer  on  conditions 
which  I  cannot  accept,  or  to  the  old  Saxon  Church,  or  to 
the  Syriac  Church,  or  to  any  contemporaneous  Church  that 
will  give  me  the  Scriptures  without  so  fatal  a  restriction. 
24 


278  THE    GPwEAT    APOSTASY. 

Suppose  a  water  company  in  one  of  the  London  districts 
sent  their  agent  to  me,  and  said,  "We  will  supply  your 
house  with  water  from  our  corporation,  but  on  this  condition, 
that  you  shall  use  the  conduit  pipes  we  have  laid  down, 
which,  it  is  but  just  and  candid  not  to  conceal  from  you, 
have  a  slight  coating  of  arsenic  ;  and  also  that  you  employ 
our  buckets,  which,  it  would  be  equally  unfair  to  disguise, 
have  acquired  a  peculiar,  but  we  think  not  very  deleterious 
taint ;  and  unless  you  consent  to  this,  we  will  not  supply  you 
with  water  at  all ; "  —  my  instant  answer  would  be  —  "I  am 
happy  to  learn  there  are  half  a  dozen  other  water  compa- 
nies in  London  ;  I  will  apply  to  one  of  them,  that  will  give 
me  w^ater  without  any  admixture  or  taint."  Even  so,  if  the 
Church  of  Rome  will  not  supply  me  with  the  living  waters 
which  come  from  the  Oracles  of  God,  except  I  make  use  of 
her  corrupted  conduit  pipes  and  buckets,  then  I  will  turn  to 
one  of  those  churches  which  will  give  me  life's  untainted 
streams  first  hand  and  pure  from  their  glorious  and  inex- 
haustible fountain,  without  any  admixture  of  deleterious  ele- 
ments infused  by  Roman  or  any  other  hands. 

"But,"  says  the  Church  of  Rome,  when  silenced  upon 
this  point,  "  are  you  aware  that  you  have  not  the  Bible  in 
its  integrity  —  that  certain  books  have  been  long  lost,  and 
that,  therefore,  you  have  not  a  sufficient  or  complete  rule  of 
faith  in  the  Bible  alone  ?  "  Is  it  true,  I  exclaim,  that  cer- 
tain books  have  been  lost,  and  is  it  also  true,  as  you  inces- 
santly tell  us,  that  you  have  been  the  watcher  over  the 
Bible  in  every  age  ?  What  a  sleepy  guardian  the  Church 
of  Rome  must  be  to  have  allowed  some  books  to  disappear, 
and  what  matchless  effrontery  at  the  same  time  to  boast  of 
being  the  keeper  of  the  Bible,  and  of  our  being  indebted  to 
her  for  the  precious  deposit !  .  If  one  book  be  lost,  who  is  to 
blame  ?  Rome  proclaims  her  crimes  in  trying  to  assail  our 
Protestant  faith.  Surely,  in  trying  to  beat  down  our  for- 
tress, she  is  taking  stones  from  her  own  fabric. 


THE    BIBLE,    NOT    TRADITION.  279 

There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  any  books  of  the 
Bible  have  been  lost ;  and  in  this  respect  I  do  not  blame  the 
Church  of  Rome.  "When  I  ask  what  books  have  been  lost, 
it  is  true  she  answers,  that  two  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
"  the  book  of  Jasher,"  and  "  the  book  of  the  wars  of  the 
Lord,"  are  wanting.  These,  she  says,  must  have  been  in- 
spired books  now  lost.  I  reply.  There  is  no  evidence  what- 
ever that  those  were  inspired  books.  To  say  that  the  allu- 
sion to  a  book  in  the  Bible  proves  it  to  be  one  of  the 
inspired  books,  is  to  prove  too  much ;  for  the  Apostle  Paul 
quotes  from  Aretas,  a  Greek  poet,  and  from  Epimenides, 
another  Greek  writer ;  and  if,  because  Moses  refers  to  the 
book  of  Jasher,  that  book  is  therefore  inspired,  then  because 
Paul  refers  to  Aretas  and  Epimenides,  those  Greek  authors 
are  also  therefore  inspired.  The  fact  that  an  inspired  pen- 
man alludes  to  extraneous  and  contemporaneous  works,  is 
no  evidence  whatever  that  he  held  or  recognized  them  as 
inspired.  There  is  not  the  slightest  proof,  or  approximation 
to  proof,  that  one  single  inspired  book  has  been  lost. 

"  But,"  says  the  Church  of  Rome,  "  compare  our  Bible 
with  your  Protestant  Bible,  and  you  will  find  there  are 
certain  books  in  ours  which  are  not  in  yours ;  the  books  of 
Maccabees,  the  books  of  Esdras,  Ecclesiasticus,  Tobit,  and 
various  others,  are  all  contained  in  the  Douay  Bible,  but  are 
wanting  in  the  Protestant"  There  is  unquestionably  a  dif- 
ference here,  and  a  very  marked  one ;  the  books  of  the 
Apocrypha,  it  is  true,  are  not  in  our  Bible,  and  are  not  rec- 
ognized by  any  Protestant  Church  as  inspired,  whereas  by 
an  express  canon  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  they  are  declared 
to  be  inspired,  as  truly  so  as  the  Gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark, 
Luke,  or  John.  I  fear  there  is  a  reason  for  that  decision : 
the  apocryphal  books  are  the  only  books  that  have  ever 
received  for  any  time  the  name  of  Scripture,  which  contain 
the  least  "  shadow  of  a  shade  "  of  argument  for  the  peculiar 
heresies  of  the  Church  of  Rome ;  and  she  has,  therefore,  a 


280  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

deep  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  their  claims  to  inspira- 
tion; and  hence,  her  recent  doctors  and  councils  have 
wielded  their  most  powerful  but  unsuccessful  arguments  in 
defence  of  them.  But  it  may  be  very  easily  shown  that 
they  are  not  inspired.  In  the  first  place,  they  were  not 
written  in  Hebrew,  as  are  the  other  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, but  in  Greek.  In  the  second  place,  they  were  never 
once  quoted  by  our  blessed  Lord  or  his  apostles.  Thirdly, 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  were  committed  to  the  Jews, 
as  to  their  legitimate  guardians ;  "  to  them  were  committed 
the  Oracles  of  God."  Our  Lord  accused  them  of  "  making 
void  the  word  of  God  by  their  traditions,"  and  of  neglecting 
the  Scripture,  but  never  of  omitting  any  book  really  in- 
spired. If  they  had  omitted  the  apocryphal  books  (and 
they  never  did  receive  them  into  the  sacred  canon),  while 
these  were  really  inspired,  unquestionably  our  Lord  would 
have  charged  them  with  this  deadly  crime.  Fourthly,  the 
Apocrypha  contains  doctrines  totally  destructive  of  moral- 
ity. For  instance,  in  the  Second  Book  of  Maccabees  (xiv. 
42)  we  read  thus  —  "  Now  as  the  multitude  sought  to  rush 
into  his  house  and  break  open  the  door,  and  to  set  fire  to  it, 
when  he  was  ready  to  be  taken,  he  struck  himself  with  the 
sword,  choosing  to  die  nobly,  rather  than  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  wicked,  and  to  suffer  abuses  unbecoming  his 
noble  birth."  In  this,  we  observe,  there  is  a  distinct  eulo- 
gium  upon  suicide ;  it  is  declared,  that  the  man  who  rushed 
unbidden  and  unsent  into  the  presence  of  his  God  "  died 
nobly."  To  such  morality  as  this,  we  find  no  parallel  or 
counterpart  in  the  rest  of  the  Sacred  Volume.  In  the  same 
Second  Book  of  Maccabees,  we  read  that  "  it  is  a  holy  and 
wholesome  thought  to  pray  for  the  dead,  that  they  may  be 
loosed  from  their  sins."  In  another  portion  of  the  Apocry- 
pha, the  book  of  Tobias  (which  has  been  received  by  the 
Romish  Church  as  inspired),  it  is  written,  that  "to  depart 
from  injustice  is  to  ofier  a  propitiatory  sacrijke,  and  i«;  tke 


THE     BIBLE,   NOT    TRADITION.  281 

obtaining  of  pardon  for  sins.  These,  and  other  doctrines 
that  might  be  quoted  from  the  Apocrypha,  show  distinctly 
that  it  is  not  inspired,  nor  in  character  to  be  identified  with 
the  Sacred  Volume.  But  further,  we  have  decisive  evidence 
that  the  Apocrypha  is  not  part  of  the  Word  of  God,  from 
the  simple  fact,  that  the  writers  of  the  Apocrypha  disclaim 
for  themselves  all  pretensions  to  inspiration  whatever.  For 
instance,  at  the  end  of  the  Second  Book  of  Maccabees, 
which  is  received  by  the  Church  of  Rome  as  part  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  it  is  stated  —  "So  these  things  being  by 
Nicanor,  etc.,  I  also  here  will  make  an  end  of  my  narrative, 
which  if  I  have  done  well,  it  is  what  I  desired ;  but  if  not 
so  perfectly,  it  must  be  pardoned  me."  Can  we  conceive  an 
inspired  penman  begging  pardon  for  the  manner  or  matter 
of  his  narrative  ?  Certainly  there  is  no  parallel  apology  in 
Sacred  Writ ;  and  this  statement  of  the  writer  of  the  Books 
of  Maccabees,  is  alone  sufficient  to  disprove  all  ascription  of 
inspiration  to  his  work. 

Perhaps  to  a  Roman  Catholic  the  most  decisive  evidence 
upon  this  subject,  if  any  evidence  be  to  him  decisive,  is  the 
voice  of  the  fathers;  and  though  the  fathers  are  rarely 
unanimous  in  the  interpretation  of  the  plainest  passages  of 
Scripture,  yet,  strange  to  say,  in  the  rejection  of  the  apocry- 
phal books,  they  all  nearly  agree.  Pope  Gregory  the  Great, 
who  lived  in  the  sixth  century,  declared  the  apocryphal 
books  of  the  Maccabees  to  be  uninspired ;  Pope  Pius  IX., 
who  lives  in  the  nineteenth  century,  affirms  them  to  be  in- 
spired :  so  much,  en  passant,  for  the  unity  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  But  to  refer  for  a  moment  to  the  fathers. 
Origen,  who  lived  A.  d.  200,  gives  a  catalogue  of  the  books 
of  Scripture,  but  does  not  include  the  Apocrypha.  Eusebius, 
speaking  of  Melito's  Catalogue,  rejects  the  Apocrypha. 
Athanasius,  who  lived  A.  D.  340,  rejects  the  whole  of  tlie 
Apocrypha,  except  one  book,  which  he  thinks  may  be  in- 
Fpired,  called  the  Book  of  Baruch.  Hilary,  who  lived  A.  Di 
24* 


282  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

354,  rejects  all  the  Apocrypha.  Epiphanius,  who  lived  A.  d. 
368,  rejects  it  all.  The  fathers  in  the  Council  of  Laodicea, 
A.  D.  367,  reject  all  the  Apocrypha.  Gregory  of  Nazian- 
zen,  who  lived  in  370,  rejects  it.  Amphilochius,  who  lived  in 
370,  also  rejects  it.  Jerome,  who  lived  in  322,  rejects  it  all. 
Now,  as  a  Roman  Catholic  is  bound  by  the  Creed  of  Pius 
IV.  to  interpret  according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
fathers,  let  him  accept  their  unanimity  in  this  instance,  where 
it  does  seem  to  exist,  and  then  admit  that  infallibility  has 
proved  itself  signally  fallible,  and  unity  its  concord  truly 
discordant,  in  proclaiming  the  apocryphal  books  to  be 
inspired. 

But,  driven  from  this  point,  and  unable  to  show  that  any 
part  of  the  word  of  God  has  been  lost,  the  Roman  Catholic 
turns  upon  us  again  and  says  — "  You  cannot  prove  the 
Bible  to  be  the  Bible  at  all,  unless  by  the  Church."  In 
the  course  of  a  discussion  with  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  after 
I  had  replied  to  his  objections,  he  said  to  me,  "  What  book 
is  that  in  your  hand,  with  black  morocco  binding  and  a  sil- 
ver clasp  ?  "  "  The  Bible,"  I  answered.  He  said,  "  I  deny 
it."  I  bade  him  look  at  it,  but  still  he  said  it  was  not 
the  Bible.  I  felt,  that  as  he  was  accustomed  to  believe 
flour  and  w^ater  to  be  flesh  and  blood  every  Sunday,  and 
therefore  was  received  once  a  week,  I  must  not  be  surprised 
if  he  believed  my  Bible  to  be  a  novel,  or  one  of  the  fathers. 
He  said,  "  I  deny  that  this  volume  is  the  Bible.  I  call  upoD 
you  to  demonstrate  it  to  be  the  Bible :  we  Catholics  alone 
are  able  to  prove  what  is  the  Bible."  "  Indeed,"  I  said ; 
"  and  pray  how  do  you  prove  it  ? "  "  By  the  Church." 
"  But  how  do  you  prove  the  Church  ?  "  His  answer,  after 
some  hesitation,  was,  "  By  the  Bible."  That,  you  see,  is 
reasoning  in  a  circle ;  and,  by  this  play  upon  words,  this 
vicious  logic,  some  people  are  led  to  believe  that  you  cannot 
prove  the  Bible  to  be  God's  word,  unless  you  admit  the 
assumptions  and  claims  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 


THE   BIBLE,    NOT    TllADlTION.  283 

A  Roman  Catholic  never  fails  to  urge  this  point;  and 
lience  every  Protestant  ought  to  have  the  evidences  of 
Christianity  in  an  epitome,  so  that  he  can  give  an  idea  of 
the  mode  in  which  he  proves  the  Bible  to  be  God's  Word ; 
and  I  did  prove  it  on  that  occasion,  on  so  conclusive  evi- 
dences, that  no  jury  in  England  would  refuse  to  give  in  a 
verdict  of  "proved."  Of  this  proof  I  may  give  a  very 
brief  synopsis,  as  a  specimen,  and  no  more. 

First,  I  appeal  to  miracles.  We  have  historical  evidence, 
or  attesting  and  credible  witnesses,  that  miracles  were 
wrought  at  the  first  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  But  what  is 
a  miracle  ?  It  is  just  the  superscription  of  Heaven,  struck 
upon  the  sacred  page  —  the  seal,  and  (if  you  will  allow  the 
expression)  the  crest  of  God  impressed  upon  the  sacred 
document,  stamping  it  his,  and  therefore  proving  it  divine. 
This  alone  furnishes  irresistible  evidence,  that  a  book  which 
Omnipotence  interposed  to  commend,  has  for  its  all-pervad- 
ing element  the  inspiration,  as  it  bears  luminous  upon  its 
brow  the  shechinah,  of  God. 

My  second  proof  is  prophecy.  I  can  select  a  thousand 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  and  show 
their  complete  and  indisputable  fulfilment;  and  from  this 
alone  I  must  infer  that  the  men  who  predicted  events  so 
remote  and  so  unlikely,  were  inspired.  I  said  to  my 
antagonist,  on  the  occasion  I  have  just  referred  to,  "I 
appeal,  for  one  proof  of  the  prescience  of  the  sacred  wri- 
ters, to  the  Second  of  Thessalonians,  where  the  man  of  sin 
was  described  eighteen  centuries  ago :  that  description,  and 
the  embodiment  of  it  in  the  existing  Church  of  Home,  are 
perfectly  parallel,  the  one  answering  the  other  'as  face 
answers  to  face,'  insomuch  that  he  who  gave  the  picture 
must  have  foreseen  the  reality  in  after  ages."  I  take  the 
patritu'chal  bud,  and  find  it  unfolds  itself  in  the  blossom  of 
the  Gospel ;  I  take  the  ancient  symbols  and  types,  and  see 
them  all  merging  and  melting  into  their  substance,  Christ. 


284  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Let  me  recall  the  scenes  and  awful  transactions  of  memora- 
ble Calvary ;  let  me  look  at  the  witnesses  of  that  solemn 
hour.  I  see  gathered  round  the  cross  the  hoary  patriarchs 
of  far  back  generations,  the  venerable  prophets  and  seers  of 
a  distant  day;  I  behold  types  and  symbols  become  animate 
and  vocal,  coalescing  and  concentrating  their  majestic  testi- 
mony, and  uttering  forth  the  inspiration  they  embosom  in 
the  words  of  John,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

Another  branch  of  this  argument  is  effectively  brought 
out,  in  Keith's  Fulfilment  of  Prophecy.  Tyre  from  its 
ruins,  Sodom  from  its  ashes,  Rome  in  her  apostasy,  Jerusa- 
lem in  her  degradation,  the  Arab  in  his  tent,  the  Jew  upon 
our  streets,  all  living  and  lasting,  even  if  unconscious,  wit- 
nesses, proclaim  that  this  book  has  God  for  its  author,  truth 
for  its  matter,  as  it  has  immortality  and  glory  for  its  issues. 
Let  me  suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  a  number  of  persons  in 
different  ages  and  places  had  been  engaged  in  making  vari- 
ous parts  of  a  marble  statue ;  suppose  a  person  in  Peters- 
burgh  made  a  finger,  a  second  in  Rome  a  hand,  a  third  in 
Edinburgh  an  ear,  a  fourth  in  Athens  the  body,  and  so  on 
till  the  whole  was  completed,  but  all  without  communication 
with  one  another,  and  in  different  ages  as  in  different  lands. 
Suppose,  that  when  all  the  fragments  were  brought  together 
they  formed  that  magnificent  statue,  called  the  Apollo 
Belvedere ;  would  you  not  say,  that  some  superintending 
statuary  must  have  guided  and  given  an  impulse  to  every 
chisel;  that  some  heau  ideal,  some  great  archetype,  must 
have  been  placed  before  each  of  them,  after  the  form  of 
which  they  were  inspired  constantly  to  work?  in  other 
words,  that  they  composed  the  parts,  not  as  their  own  fancy 
prescribed,  but  as  the  presiding  power  directed  ?  This  is 
the  fact  in  reference  to  the  Scriptures.  Let  us  take  the 
portrait  of  our  blessed  Lord.  Isaiah  describes  his  sorrows, 
Malachi  his  triumphs;  the  dying  Patriarch  proclaims  his 


THE   BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  285 

empire,  and  the  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel  the  extension  of 
his  kingdom ;  one  prophet  gives  one  feature,  and  another 
gives  another ;  and  looking  at  the  parts  in  detail,  irrespec- 
tive of  the  original,  and  comparing  one  with  another,  we 
should  say  they  are  so  contradictory,  that  t'hey  can  never 
belong  to  the  same  being.  At  last  Bethlehem  and  Geth- 
semane  rise  above  the  horizon  —  Calvary  lifts  its  awful 
head  —  the  Son  of  God  appears  upon  the  cross  —  what 
prophets  said  is  compared  with  what  Christ  is ;  and  lo !  all 
the  parts  delineated  by  the  pens  of  prophets  in  distant  and 
different  centuries,  and  under  different  circumstances,  at 
first  apparently  contradictory,  come  to  be  put  together,  and 
they  constitute  the  "  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person."  By  this  alone  it  is 
proved  that  the  prophets  "  wrote  as  they  were  moved  and 
guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,"  and  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is 
the  Messiah. 

My  next  proof  consists  of  experimental  evidence.  In 
order  to  appreciate  it,  I  would  bid  the  objector  come  with 
me  to  some  sequestered  glen  amid  the  hills  and  valleys  of 
Scotland,  —  I  will  take  him  to  the  patriarchal  occupant  of  a 
lonely  cabin,  where  you  may  behold  the  gray-headed  man, 
amid  intermingling  smiles  and  tears,  bending,  morning, 
noon,  and  night,  over  one  book  —  "  the  big  ha'  Bible."  Let 
us  ask  him,  "  How  do  you  know  that  that  book  called  the 
Bible  is  the  book  of  God  ?  You  never  read  the  writings  of 
a  Paley,  the  Analogy  of  a  Butler ;  you  never  studied  the 
Credibility  of  a  Lardner,  nor  the  eloquent  demonstrations 
of  a  Chalmers ;  how  came  you  to  believe  it  ?  "  "  Come  to 
believe  it  ?  "  would  the  peasant  say ;  "  I  have  felt  it  in  my 
heart  and  conscience  to  be  the  Book  of  God ;  it  has  taught 
me  the  truths  I  never  knew  before,  it  has  given  me  a  peace 
the  world  could  not  give  ;  it  has  calmed  my  beating  heart, 
it  has  stanched  my  bleeding  wounds,  it  has  kindled  within 
me  the  love  of  God  and  the  hopes  of  glory.     Not  the  Book 


286  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

of  God!  I  am  as  convinced  of  it,  as  that  I  am  here  a 
living,  breathing  man."  Such  is  the  experimental  evi- 
dence. 

I  will  briefly  show,  by  one  illustration,  the  three  kinds  of 
evidence,  by  wliich  we  may  prove  to  a  Roman  Catholic  that 
the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God.  Suppose  an  individual  has 
been  an  invalid,  and  after  six  weeks'  illness  has  been  re- 
stored to  perfect  health  and  strength  by  means  of  a  tonic 
prescribed  by  some  physician ;  suppose  the  tonic  to  be  port 
wine.  A  stranger  comes  to  this  recovered  man  and  says, 
"  It  is  not  port  wine  which  you  have  been  taking,  it  is 
merely  water  from  the  ditch."  What  would  be  his  reply  ? 
He  might  say,  "I  will  convince  you  from  three  distinct 
sources,  that  that  which  I  am  taking  is  port  wine."  First, 
he  brings  the  wine  merchant ;  and  the  wine  merchant  states, 
that  he  saw  the  grapes  in  the  vineyard,  he  saw  them  pre- 
pared in  the  wine-press,  he  saw  the  wine  put  into  the  cask  — 
drawn  off  into  bottles  —  placed  in  the  chamber  of  the  invalid. 
This  is  external  evidence.  He  next  calls  the  chemist ;  and 
the  chemist  states  that  he  has  subjected  the  w^ine  to  the 
usual  and  appropriate  tests,  and  he  is  sure  it  is  port  wine. 
That  is  internal  evidence.  But  the  third  witness  is  the  re- 
covered patient ;  and  he  says,  "  I  can  add  the  experimental 
to  these  evidences ;  I  was  reduced  to  the  verge  of  the  grave 
by  debility,  and  this  has  raised  me  up,  renewed  my  vigor, 
imparted  strength  to  my  constitution :  I  am  persuaded  that 
it  is  not  water,  but  an  efficacious  tonic  that  I  have  taken." 
It  is  so  with  this  Book.  All  three  evidences  rest  on  it  as 
the  glory  on  the  mercy-seat ;  but  to  a  Christian  taught  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  his  heart-felt  experience  is  the  strongest 
evidence :  "  I  have  felt  the  glorious  Gospel  in  the  inmost 
recesses  of  my  heart,"  and  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved ; "  no  sophistries  or  subtleties  of  man  can  disprove 
this  to  be  "  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  grace  of  God  unto 
salvation." 


THE    BIBLE,    NOT    TRADITION.  287 

There  is,  however,  another  argument,  frequently  over- 
looked, which  I  would  adduce  —  the  miraculous  preservation 
of  the  Bible.  The  fact  that  this  book  is  in  my  hand,  is  one 
of  the  most  stupendous  miracles  that  has  ever  occurred ;  for 
it  has  been  more  proscribed,  and  persecuted,  and  trodden 
underfoot,  than  all  the  books  of  ancient  and  modern  times 
together.  Were  there  to  come  into  the  midst  of  this  assem- 
bly a  man  who  had  outlived  eighteen  centuries,  —  who  had 
been  cast  into  the  sea,  and  not  drowned,  —  thrown  to  the 
wild  beasts,  and  not  devoured,  —  made  to  drink  deadly  poi- 
sons, and  not  killed,  —  shot  at  and  stabbed,  and  not  injured  — 
would  you  not  believe,  that  the  broad  shield  of  Omnipotence 
must  have  been  over  and  with  him,  and  that  he  "  lived  and 
moved  and  had  his  being  "  in  the  heart  of  a  perpetual  mira- 
cle ?  This  is  that  man.  The  Bible  has  been  cast  into  the 
fires,  but  not  consumed  ;  it  has  been  thrown  into  the  waves, 
but  not  overwhelmed ;  the  deadly  and  deleterious  notes  of 
the  Douay  and  Rhemish  translators  have  been  forced  upon 
it,  but  it  has  not  been  tainted ;  it  stands  before  us  still,  in 
unshorn  and  untarnished  glory,  reflecting  the  love  of  our 
heavenly  Father,  and  the  destinies  of  his  believing  and 
happy  family.  That  must  be  the  Book  of  God,  which  has 
been  enshrined  in  perpetual  miracle.  The  productions  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  Muses,  which  men  have  been  anxious 
to  preserve  because  they  ministered  to  their  corrupt  taste, 
have  been  lost :  but  the  book  that  protests  against  men's 
sins,  and  rebukes  men's  lusts  —  which  man  hated — has  been 
preserved  by  man,  and  in  spite  of  man. 

But  when,  by  these  simple  evidences,  I  have  proved  to  a 
Roman  Catholic  that  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God,  he  will 
say,  "  When  you  Protestants  have  got  the  Bible,  you  cannot 
agree  about  the  interpretation  of  it ;  and  therefore  it  is  much 
better  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  Church,  and  be  guided 
solely  by  her."  My  answer  to  this  is  simple  :  There  are 
certain  points  so  essential,  that  there  is  no  Church  and  no 


288  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Gospel  without  them ;  and  on  these  vital  truths  all  sections 
of  the  Protestant  Church  are  agreed,  except  Socinians,  who 
are  scarcely  Christians  at  all ;  while  the  points  about  which 
we  differ  are  circumstantial  and  non-essential.  Moreover, 
if  we  differ  about  the  interpretation  of  certain  passages,  it  is 
not  the  fault  of  our  rule  of  faith,  but  the  fault  of  our  own 
hearts.  Blame  man,  not  the  Bible.  I  will  explain  my 
meaning  by  a  very  simple  illustration.  Suppose  an  Act  of 
Parliament  is  to  be  passed  upon  some  subject  affecting  prop- 
erty :  first  of  all,  it  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  skilful  solicitors 
or  law  agents,  and  who  most  carefully  draw  it  up  ;  it  is  then 
clearly  written  out,  introduced,  and  read  a  first  time  before 
the  House  of  Commons  ;  one  member  proposes  one  correc- 
tion, another  a  second,  and  another  a  third ;  and  after  it  has 
been  canvassed  and  altered,  and  remodelled  and  recon- 
structed, it  is  read  a  third  time  and  passed,  it  is  ushered  into 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  undergoes  a  process  of  curtailment 
and  addition  and  alteration  there  ;  and  after  being  three 
times  read  and  canvassed  in  the  House  of  Lords,  it  is  passed. 
It  is  next  submitted  to  the  Queen  :  the  Queen  reads  it  in 
Council,  and  gives  her  seal  and  approval  to  it,  and  it  be- 
comes the  law  of  the  country.  Now  if  it  be  possible  to  have 
a  document  not  liable  to  misapprehension  or  mistake,  desti- 
tute of  a  loophole  through  which  guilty  ingenuity  can 
escape,  it  must  surely  be  this.  It  has  been  submitted  to  the 
most  learned  —  it  has  been  examined  by  those  who  were 
anxious  to  find  flaws  in  it  —  in  short,  one  would  say.  This 
must  be  as  perfect  as  human  wisdom  can  make  it.  We 
wait  twelve  months,  and  what  do  we  find  it  ?  A  dispute  has 
come  before  a  court  of  law  arising  on  the  construction  of 
that  Act  of  Parliament.  A.  says  —  "  It  gives  such  property 
to  me  under  Act  Victoria ; "  B.  says  — "  No,  it  makes  it 
mine  ; "  C.  says  —  "  Half  belongs  to  you  and  half  to  me  ; " 
and  D.  says  —  "  It  belongs  to  none  of  you,  but  wholly  to 
me  ; "  and  each  of  them  quotes  the  same  Act,  and  each  has 


THE  BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  289 

a  certain  amount  of  plausible  pretext  for  the  interpretation 
whicli  he  puts  upon  it.  How  is  this  ?  Is  the  Act  imper- 
fect ?  Not  at  all ;  it  is  because  each  person  has  a  greater 
desire  to  get  hold  of  the  property  that  is  in  question,  than  to 
get  at  the  real  meaning  of  the  Act  of  Parliament ;  each 
reads  it  in  the  light  of  his  covetousness,  and  therefore  puts 
his  own  interpretation  upon  it.  This  is  just  the  secret  of 
half  our  differences  about  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible. 
The  Episcopalian  reads  it  too  often  in  the  light  of  Episco- 
pacy, the  Dissenter  in  the  light  of  Dissent,  the  Free  Seceder 
in  the  light  of  the  Free  Secession :  and  that  each  goes  too 
much  to  the  Bible,  not  to  cause  it  to  pass  as  a  ploughshare 
through  all  his  preconceived  notions,  but  with  a  hankering 
after  his  own  system,  and  a  determination  to  turn  every  text 
to  its  support.  Professing  to  be  Protestants,  each  neverthe- 
less reads  and  interprets  after  some  favorite  tradition.  But 
the  remedy  is,  not  to  go  to  the  Pope  for  a  new  rule  of 
faith,  but  to  pray  to  God  for  a  new  heart ;  not  to  seek  a 
new  Bible,  but  to  ask  for  fresh  inward  and  celestial  sun- 
shine, amid  the  brilhancy  of  which  to  read  the  Bible  we 
have. 

We  need  an  infallible  interpreter,  no  doubt ;  the  Roman 
Catholic  is  right  in  that.  But  where  and  who  is  that  inter- 
preter ?  The  Popes  and  Councils  have  proved  themselves 
most  fallible  ;  Protestant  ministers  have  proved  themselves 
fallible  ;  we  need  the  Spirit  of  God  to  open  up  the  Book  he 
himself  has  inspired,  and  then  we  shall  not  err.  If  I  had 
written  a  book  upon  philosophy,  and  if,  in  the  course  of 
reading  it,  one  came  to  a  passage  which  he  could  not  under- 
stand, he  would  apply  probably  to  a  friend,  or  minister,  and 
ask  for  his  explanation  of  it;  and  he  would  receive,  no 
doubt,  his  best  interpretation.  Still  he  thinks  the  meaning 
obscure.  But  suppose  the  inquirer  were  to  hear  that  the 
author  of  the  book  is  to  be  in  the  vestry  of  a  certain  church 
on  a  certain  night,  and  that  he  can  have  access  to  him  there, 
25 


290  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

—  would  he  not  naturally  apply  to  him,  as  his  interpretation 
is  more  likely  to  be  correct  than  that  of  any  other,  however 
learned  or  ingenious  ?  Would  he  not  ask  him  to  explain 
his  own  meaning  ?  The  Author  of  the  Bible  lives,  and  is 
near,  every  hour  and  in  every  place,  to  every  one  of  us. 
Let  us  go  to  him,  and  say,  "  Oh  !  send  out  thy  light  and  thy 
truth  ;  let  them  lead  me  ; "  and  in  that  clearest  light  of  God 
we  shall  see  all  things  clear. 

The  difference  between  reading  God's  Book  in  the  light 
of  God's  Spirit,  and  in  any  other  light,  is  immense.  Were 
I  to  go  forth  and  look  upon  one  of  the  lovely  landscapes  of 
our  father-land,  when  the  moon  at  midnight  shines  upon  it  in 
her  calm  and  silver  beauty,  I  might,  indeed,  comprehend  the 
general  outline  of  the  scene,  but  I  should  fail  to  distinguish 
flowers  and  plants,  and  their  many-tinted  colorings  :  a  misty 
haze  would  hang  on  the  whole  panorama.  But  if  I  go  and 
contemplate  it  at  noonday,  I  should  distinguish  the  tint  of 
every  flower,  the  nature  of  every  tree  —  trace  the  meander- 
ing of  every  stream  ;  and  the  whole  landscape  in  its  length 
and  breadth  would  be  presented  with  a  beauty  and  a  perspi- 
cuity undistinguishable  before.  So  with  the  Bible.  Read 
it  in  the  misty  moonlight  of  the  fathers,  and  it  is  very  inex- 
plicable indeed :  read  it  under  the  mistier  starlight  of  the 
Church,  and  it  is  more  unintelligible  still ;  but  in  the  exer- 
cise of  chastened  nnd  sanctified  judgments,  let  us  bring  the 
sacred  page  beneath  the  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
implore  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  forthwith  it 
will  be  flooded  with  a  glory  that  will  make  every  perplexity 
plain,  every  difficulty  vanish,  and  each  text  grow  radiant 
with  life,  simplicity,  and  beauty. 

It  was  the  rule  of  faith  held  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
divines,  and  by  the  Oxford  Tractarians,  that  plunged  Europe 
in  all  the  murky  darkness  of  the  middle  ages ;  and  it  was 
the  Protestant  rule  of  faith  rescued  from  their  grasp,  that 
had  folded  within  itself  and  sent  forth  all  the  blessings,  civil 


THE  BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  291 

and  religious,  which  Britons  now  enjoy.  The  moment 
Luther  brought  the  Bible,  the  Protestant  rule  of  faith,  from 
its  prisonhouse,  the  Augean  stable  began  to  be  swept  —  the 
idols  fell  from  their  niches  like  Dagon  before  the  ark  of  the 
Lord  —  the  trumpet  of  another  Jubilee  sounded  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Christendom,  filling  men's  hearts  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  truth,  and  startling  all  Europe  with  the 
thunders  of  long  dormant  and  oppressed  Christianity.  It  is 
owing  to  the  noble  efforts  of  the  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  that  we  are  what  and 
where  we  are.  They  planted  the  tree  of  life  in  the  midst 
of  our  native  land ;  they  watered  it  with  the  tears  of  weep- 
ing eyes,  and  with  the  blood  of  warm  hearts ;  and  all  the 
reward  they  coveted  on  earth  was,  that  we,  their  children, 
and  their  children's  children,  might  sit  down  beneath  its 
shadow,  and  eat  its  fruit,  so  pleasant  to  our  taste ;  whilst 
their  ashes  moulder  at  its  root,  and  their  happy  spirits  look 
down  from  their  seats  of  glory,  and  rejoice  that  "  they  la- 
bored, and  we  have  entered  into  their  labors." 

What  was  it  that  brought  wreck  upon  Jerusalem,  and 
occasioned  the  extirpation  of  all  its  grandeur  ?  Its  people 
preferred  the  traditions  of  man  to  the  conunandments  of 
God ;  and  from  the  moment  they  began  to  do  so,  corruption 
grew  in  strength,  and  spread  its  contagion  to  the  utmost 
limits  of  the  Jewish  race.  Let  it  be  a  warning  to  us  in  the 
present  day.  The  Jews  had  ecclesiastical  authority,  out- 
ward sanctity,  a  succession  most  legitimate,  a  gorgeous  ritual, 
the  Law  and  the  promises,  and  almsgivings  and  fastings 
such  as  the  Eremites  and  Cenobites  of  Oxford  have  never 
attempted  to  rival ;  their  whole  economy  was  instituted 
amidst  stupendous  miracles,  and  cradled  amid  glorious  mer 
cies ;  they  had  prophets  commissioned  from  heaven  to  guide 
and  teach  them ;  they  had  a  temple,  the  glory  and  the  admi- 
ration of  the  whole  earth ;  they  had  a  real  historical  succes- 
sion in  the  priesthood  —  but,  in  an  evil  and  disastrous  hour, 


292  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

tKey  preferred  the  traditions  of  man  to  the  commandments 
of  God,  and  from  that  moment  they  felt  and  proved  the 
great  truth,  that  the  church  which  tries  to  steal  a  ray  from 
the  glory  of  God,  takes  a  consuming  curse  into  its  own 
bosom.  When  the  Son  of  God  came  to  Jerusalem,  how  did 
they  receive  him  ?  They  w^ho  boasted  of  being  "  the  temple 
of  the  Lord,"  the  only  Church,  the  occupants  of  Moses' 
chair,  exclaimed  —  "  Away  with  him,  away  with  him ; "  and 
at  last  he  was  condemned  to  be  crucified  between  two  thieves, 
by  a  people  that  declared  themselves  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham, and  the  chosen  of  the  Most  High.  What  consuming 
and  crushing  judgments  followed !  Thirty  years  afterwards, 
the  Roman  armies  are  seen  concentrated  in  hostile  array 
around  foredoomed,  because  guilty,  Jerusalem;  the  fire- 
brands soon  blazed  amid  the  carved  work  of  the  sanctuary ; 
the  shouts  of  the  Roman  soldiers  are  heard  in  those  cloisters 
where  the  accents  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  had  been 
uttered  by  venerable  priests  and  prostrate  auditories ;  the 
Roman  eagle  spreads  its  wings  wdiere  the  cherubim  were ; 
and  Josephus,  a  spared  priest,  sits  amid  the  ruins  of  his 
father-land,  the  weeping  chronicler  of  its  faded  glories. 
Every  stone  that  now  remains  cries  out,  in  dumb  but  awful 
eloquence,  Ichabod !  Ichabod !  the  glory  is  departed !  And 
why?  "My  people  have  committed  two  great  evils:  they 
forsook  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and  hewed  out  to 
themselves  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  that  could  hold  no 
water." 

My  dear  friends,  if  you  wish  to  arrest  a  scarcely  less 
dreadful  national  ruin  —  if  you  would  stem,  under  God,  the 
tide  and  torrent  of  superstition  that  now  threatens  to  inun- 
date the  land  of  our  fathers  —  if  you  would  support  the 
great  principles  you  love,  and  disperse  the  overshadowing 
heresies  you  hate  —  cleave  more  closely  to  your  Bibles 
clasp  to  your  hearts  your  Bibles,  read  and  study  and  com 
prehend  your  Bibles.     The  Bible,  taught  you  by  the  H0I3 


THE   BIBLE,   NOT   TRADITION.  298 

Ghost,  is  your  bulwark  and  your  glory.  If  God,  in  judg- 
ment, were  to  take  the  stars  from  the  firmament,  the  tides 
from  the  ocean,  the  verdure  from  the  green  earth,  he  would 
not  inflict  by  half  so  tremendous  a  catastrophe  as  to  permit 
the  removal  of  his  Book  from  its  supremacy,  and  to  suffer 
the  traditions  and  commandments  of  men  to  supersede  or  be 
a  substitute  for  it.  To  the  Bible  we  are  indebted  for  our 
brightest  hopes,  for  our  most  substantial  peace,  for  our  deep 
and  holy  faith,  for  the  knowledge  of  our  God  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  It  alone,  of  all  the  monitors  of  our  universe, 
teaches  me  that  I  am  not  an  orphan :  trumpet-tongued,  and 
with  the  solemnity  of  a:  judge,  and  the  certainty  of  a  prophet, 
it  declares  that  eternity  is  the  measure  of  my  lifetime,  infini- 
tude the  boundary  of  my  home,  and  God,  "  even  our  own 
God,"  my  portion. 

I  have  great  faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  and  in  the 
inborn  grandeur  of  real  Christianity.  Sooner  may  the 
stars  be  wiped  from  the  firmament,  than  it  perish.  Its 
ministers  may  be  made  martyrs,  its  true-hearted  ones  may 
be  sorely  tried  and  persecuted,  but  a  seed  shall  be  left  in 
the  worst  proscription  to  serve  their  God.  Crushed  they 
may  be  for  a  season,  but  conquer  they  eventually  must. 
The  ark  in  which  the  Gospel  is,  is  perishable  even  when 
fairest ;  but  however  often  it  may  be  shipwrecked,  the  Gos- 
pel always  comes  safe  to  shore.  Of  its  doctrines  the  Angel 
of  the  Everlasting  Covenant  has  said,  "  there  shall  be  no 
loss  of  any  one."  Should  Popery,  and  its  subordinate 
drudge,  Tractarianism,  rise  to  a  still  more  gigantic  and  over- 
shadowing influence,  the  sacred  truths  of  the  Gospel  will 
not  be  extinguished ;  the  persecuted  Church  will  become 
purer  and  intenser  as  her  outward  oppression  accumulates, 
and  speak  forth  a  more  free  and  faithful  testimony.  The 
most  stirring  notes  of  the  trumpet  of  the  everlasting  Gospel 
have  been  uttered  amid  dreary  glens  and  tangled  deserts, 
25* 


294  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

and  the  brightest  glory  has  arisen  from  the  aslies  of 
the  martyrs.  When  the  number  of  martyrs  shall  be  the 
greatest,  the  holy  splendors  of  the  millennium  will  be  the 
nearest. 


LECTURE    XI. 


THE    INVOCATION    OP   SAINTS. 


Our  blessed  Lord  repelled  the  temptations  of  Satan,  not 
by  an  appeal  to  his  own  omniscience  as  God,  but  by  an 
appeal  "  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony,"  as  a  decisive  reve- 
lation of  the  duty  of  man,  and  the  doctrines  of  truth.  On 
three  several  occasions  Satan  plied  him  with  temptations ; 
and  on  each  of  those  occasions  our  Lord  repelled  him  with 
the  simple,  but  to  us  satisfactory  announcement  —  "It  is 
written."  On  one  of  these  he  said :  "  It  is  written.  Thou 
shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 
serve." 

"  But,"  asks  some  one  in  this  assembly,  "  is  it  needful  to 
address  such  a  text  to  any  section  of  Christendom  what- 
ever ?  It  may  be  most  appropriate  amid  the  idolatrous  isles 
of  the  Pacific,  it  may  be  a  most  important  prescription  to 
inculcate  on  some  savage  and  unenlightened  shores ;  but  do 
you  mean  to  say,  that  there  is  any  portion  of  the  professing 
visible  church  that  needs  to  have  it  impressed  upon  its  priests, 
or  inculcated  on  its  people  — '  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve  ? ' " 

There  is  a  portion  of  the  visible  church  that  needs  to 
have  this  inculcated.  In  the  Church  of  llome,  I  contend, 
that  however  subtle  and  delicate  her  theoretical  distinctions 
on  the  worship  of  saints  may  be,  the  practical  effect  is,  that 
Mary  has  assumed  the  place  and  prerogatives  that  belong  to 
Christ ;  and  that  angels  and  spirits,  who  are,  or  are  supposed 
to  be,  before  the  Throne,  are  made  to  receive,  and  absorb  to 


296  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

themselves,  the  adorations  and  the  praises  that  ought  to  as- 
cend, exclusive  and  undiluted,  to  our  God  and  Father, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Mediator. 

The  title  selected  for  this  Lecture  is  —  The  Invocation  of 
Saints.  Some  Protestant  may  perhaps  ask.  What  is  meant 
by  this  ?  I  will  explain.  We  believe,  in  common  with  the 
apostles,  that  all  true  Christians  are  saints  —  that  every  man 
whose  heart  is  changed  is  a  saint;  but  Roman  Catholics 
attach  a  different  meaning  to  the  word  saint  —  they  call 
those  who  belong  to  her  visible  communion  "  the  faithful ; " 
and  those  "  saints,"  who  are  canonized  and  beatified,  and 
supposed  to  be  in  heaven  before  the  Throne  —  the  objects 
of  their  invocation,  and  intercessors  between  Christ  and 
them,  just  as  Christ  is  the  intercessor  between  God  and  us. 
The  Tractarians  give  the  same  restricted  meaning  to  the 
word  saint.  Perhaps  there  is  a  little  Popery  in  our  ordi- 
nary phraseology,  for  we  speak  of  Saint  Matthew,  Saint 
Peter,  Saint  John,  Saint  Paul,  as  if  they  alone  of  all  Chris- 
tians were  saints;  whereas  the  humblest  orphan  who  is 
clothed  in  the  glorious  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  has 
"  washed  his  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,"  is  just  as  much  entitled  to  all  the  glories  of  the  ce- 
lestial residence,  as  is  the  loftiest  hierarch  that  stands  near 
the  Throne,  or  the  most  illuminated  evangelist  that  ever 
brought  the  tidings  of  mercy  and  of  peace  to  the  lost  and 
the  ruined  of  the  human  family. 

I  have  this  evening  to  adduce  strange  and  startling  illus- 
trations  of  what  I  venture,  faithfully  but  in  no  offensive 
spirit,  and  duly  comprehending  the  full  force  and  meaning 
of  the  expression,  to  call  the  idolatry  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
In  order  to  explain  the  subject  to  you  more  clearly,  and  to 
present  authentic  information,  I  will  begin  by  reading  to  you 
the  definitions  of  the  Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  and  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  on  this  subject. 

In  the  Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  it  is  said  —  "I  believe 


THE    INVOCATION    OF   SAINTS.  297 

likewise  that  the  saints,  reigning  together  with  Christ,  are 
to  be  honored  and  invocated,"  —  honorandos  et  invocandos. 
And  in  the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent  on  tlie  invocation 
and  veneration  of  saints  —  "  The  holy  synod  commands  the 
bishops,  and  others  who  have  the  office  and  care  of  instruc- 
tion, that  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Catholic  and  Apos- 
tolic Church,  which  has  been  received  from  the  first  ages  of 
the  Christian  reh'gion,  the  consent  of  the  holy  fathers,  and 
the  decrees  of  the  sacred  councils,  they  make  it  a  chief 
point "  —  to  do  what  ?  to  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified  ? 
to  beckon  sinners  to  the  cross  ?  No,  but  —  "  diligently  to 
instruct  the  faithful  concernijig  the  intercession  and  the  invo- 
cation of  saints,  the  honor  of  relics,  and  the  lawful  use  of 
images;  teaching  them  that  the  saints,  reigning  together 
with  Christ,  offer  to  God  their  prayers  for  men ;  and  that  it 
is  good  and  useful  to  invoke  them  with  supplications,  and  on 
account  of  the  benefits  obtained  from  God  through  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  (who  alone  is  our  Redeemer  and 
Saviour,)  to  have  recourse  to  the  prayers,  aid,  and  assistance 
of  the  saints ;  but  that  they  who  deny  that  the  saints,  enjoy- 
ing eternal  happiness  in  heaven,  are  to  be  invoked,  —  or 
who  assert,  either  that  they  do  not  pray  for  men,  or  that  the 
invoking  them  that  they  may  pray  for  each  of  us  is  idolatry, 
or  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  opposed  to 
the  honor  of  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  or 
that  it  is  folly  either  in  word  or  thought  to  supplicate  them, 
are  to  be  accursed." 

The  distinctions  drawn  by  the  Church  of  Rome  are 
these:  they  say,  that  the  supreme  worship  that  is  to  be 
given  to  God  is  XazQfla  [^latrici]  —  a  Greek  word  signifying 
worship  ;  that  the  worship  which  is  to  be  given  to  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  is  vTtSQdovXela  [Ityper-doulia]  —  a  very  lofty  form 
of  worship,  but  not  so  high  as  that  given  to  God ;  and  that 
the  worship  to  be  given  to  the,  saints  in  general,  is  dovXsia 
[doulia]  —  an  inferior  kind  of  worship. 


298  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

The  Roman  Catholics,  however,  will  deny  that  they 
worship  the  Virgin  Mary  with  the  same  worship  as  God ; 
and  I  fully  concede,  that,  in  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  and  in  the  Creed  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  the  distinction 
is  clearly  and  definitely  kept  up.  But  what  I  allege  is,  that 
in  the  books  of  a  Church  that  professes  to  be  infallible,  and 
under  the  expressed  sanction  of  illustrious  Popes  and  dis- 
tinguished Councils,  a  worship  (as  I  shall  now  proceed  to 
show)  is  given  to  the  saints  and  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  which 
can  be  characterized  by  no  softer  epithet  than  that  of  abso- 
lute and  fearful  idolatry. 

The  first  document  which  I  shall  produce,  in  order  to 
make  good  my  assertion,  is  one  with  which  most  Roman 
Catholics  are  perfectly  familiar :  it  is  called  The  glories  of 
Mary  —  a  strange  expression,  certainly,  to  a  Protestant's 
ear.  He  can  understand  well  the  glories  of  Christ,  but  the 
glories  of  Mary  is  a  language  that  seems  to  grate  upon  a 
heart  to  which  Christ  has  long  been  all,  and  Mary  compara- 
tively nothing.  To  show  you  the  authority  of  this  docu- 
ment, I  may  mention  that  the  illustrious  author,  Alphonso 
Liguori,  was  canonized  and  beatified  so  lately  as  the  year 
1839,  by  the  last  Pope,  Gregory  XVI.  Four  Popes,  it  is 
stated  in  the  title-page,  have  expressed  their  approbation  of 
the  life  and  writings  of  this  illustrious  saint ;  and  we  are 
informed  in  the  preface,  that  the  Council  at  Rome,  the 
sacred  Congregation  of  Rites,  having  made  the  most  rigor- 
ous examination  of  the  writings  of  the  saint,  to  the  number 
of  a  hundred  or  more,  pronounced  that  there  was  nothing  in 
them  deserving  of  censure ;  and  this  sentence  was  approved 
by  Pope  Pius  VII.  in  1803,  by  his  successor  Leo  X.,  and 
also  by  Pope  Urban  VIII. ;  and  in  1839,  St.  Liguori  was 
canonized  by  Pope  Gregory  XVI.  To  crown  all.  Cardinal 
Wiseman  has  written  Liguori's  life,  and  commended  his 
writings  to  the  study  of  the  faithful.  His  intercession  and 
teaching  are  also  supplicated  on  August  2,  in  every  Romish 


THE   INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  299 

church  and  chapel.  It  is  thus  asserted  in  the  preface,  that 
it  contains  nothing  but  what  is  consistent  with  the  doctrines 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  it  may  be  used  by  the 
faithful  for  the  edification  and  instruction  of  their  souls. 
Now,  in  order  to  give  you  some  idea  of  the  worship  ren- 
dered to  the  Virgin  Mary,  (for  I  shall  chiefly  restrict  myself 
to  that,  because  she  is  the  most  ilhistrious  saint  in  the 
Roman  Calendar,  and  the  object  of  most  fervent  worship  to 
Roman  Catholic  devotees,)  I  take  the  following  extracts 
from  this  volume  :  — 

Page  35 :  "  Queen  of  heaven  and  of  earth !  Mother  of 
God !  my  sovereign  mistress !  I  present  myself  before  you, 
as  a  poor  mendicant  before  a  mighty  queen.  From  the 
height  of  your  throne,  deign  to  cast  your  eyes  upon  a 
miserable  sinner,  and  lose  not  sight  of  him  till  you  render 
him  truly  holy.  O  illustrious  Virgin  !  you  are  the  queen  of 
the  universe,  and  consequently  mine.  I  desire  to  consecrate 
myself  more  particularly  to  thy  service ;  dispose  of  me 
according  to  your  good  pleasure.  Direct  me ;  I  abandon 
myself  wholly  to  your  conduct.  Chastise  me,  if  I  disobey 
you.  I  am,  then,  no  longer  mine ;  I  am  all  yours.  Save 
me,  O  powerful  queen,  save  me."  It  is  added,  I  admit,  "  by 
the  intercession  of  your  Son." 

Page  88  :  "  God  commanded  Moses  to  make  the  propitia- 
tory of  the  most  pure  gold,  because  it  was  from  thence  He 
wished  to  speak  to  him.  A  learned  writer  states,  that  Mary 
is  the  propitiatory  of  the  Christian  people,  whence  our 
Lord  gives  them  answers  of  pardon  and  forgiveness,  and 
dispenses  to  them  his  gifts  and  his  graces." 

Page  136:  "Blessed  Virgin,  who,  in  your  double  quality 
of  queen  and  mother,  dispense  your  favors  with  such 
munificence  and  love !  I,  who  am  so  poor  in  merit  and  vir- 
tue, and  greatly  indebted  to  the  Divine  justice,  humbly 
recommend  myself  to  you.  You,  O  Mary,  have  the  keys 
of  the  Divine  mercy ;  draw  on  thine  inexhaustible  treasure, 


300  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

and  dispense  its  riches  to  this  poor  sinner,  in  proportion  to 
his  immense  wants.  All  who  trust  in  Mary  will  see  heaven's 
gates  open  to  receive  them.  She  is  the  gate  of  heaven, 
since  the  Church  styles  her  Janua  Coeli.  The  Holy  Church 
styles  her  also  the  Star  of  the  Sea." 

In  page  177,  we  read  that  "  Brother  Leo  once  saw  in  a 
vision  two  ladders  reaching  to  heaven ;  one  red,  at  the  sum- 
mit of  which  was  Jesus  Christ ;  and  the  other  white,  at  the 
top  of  which  presided  his  blessed  mother.  He  observed 
that  many  who  endeavored  to  ascend  to  heaven  by  the  red 
ladder,  at  the  top  of  which  was  Christ,  after  mounting  a  few 
steps,  fell  down,  and  on  trying  again  were  equally  unsuc- 
cessful ;  but  a  voice  having  told  them  to  make  trial  of  the 
white  ladder,  at  the  top  of  which  was  his  mother,  they  im- 
mediately got  up  to  heaven,  the  blessed  Virgin  having  held 
out  her  hands  to  receive  them."  It  is  thus  taught  to  Roman 
Catholics  —  six  millions  in  Ireland,  and  two  millions  in 
England  —  that  if  the  poor  and  desponding  sinner  attempts 
to  enter  heaven  by  that  blessed  Redeemer,  who  is  "  the  way 
and  the  truth  and  the  life,"  he  will  be  rejected ;  but  that  if 
he  make  the  effort  to  ascend  by  the  Virgin  Mary  from  the 
depths  of  ruin  to  the  very  heights  of  glory,  he  will  find 
abundant  access.  The  creature  is  thus  raised  above  God, 
and  the  name  of  a  saint  above  that  of  the  Saviour. 

The  next  document  from  which  I  shall  read  is  another  of 
the  popular  books  of  devotion  circulated  among  the  Roman 
Catholics.  It  is  called  Salvation  made  easy  to  Sinners  hy 
Devotion  to  the  most  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary ;  dated  1840. 
At  page  32  we  read,  "  God  has  decreed  in  his  infinite  wis- 
dom to  grant  us  every  thing  by  Mary,  by  whom  he  has 
given  to  us  Jesus.  Oh !  who  could  ever  appreciate  that 
treasure  as  much  as  Mary  ?  "Who  loves  us  more  tenderly  ? 
The  charity  of  Mary  for  us  had  reached  its  most  sublime 
degree,  since  she  loved  us  so  far  as  to  give  us  her  own 
dearest  treasure,  even  to  consent  to  the  bloody  immolation 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  301 

of  Jesus."  Thus  language  goes  beyond  idolatry,  and  ap- 
proaches the  very  skirts  of  blasphemy  itself. 

I  take  next,  A  Portrait  of  the  admirable  Joseph,  dated 
Dublin,  1838,  and  stated  on  the  title-page  to  be  composed  by 
"  a  Catholic  priest."  At  page  35  I  read,  "  O  most  desirable 
Jesus,  O  most  amiable  Mary,  O  most  dear  Joseph  !  O  holy 
Trinity ! "  —  calling  these  three  "  Holy  Trinity."  Again : 
"  O  Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph,  who  can  express  the  sanctity 
of  your  lives  and  of  your  conversation  ?  "  Page  36 :  "  O 
Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph,  most  blessed  Trinity,  bless  me 
with  the  triple  benediction  of  the  most  holy  Lord."  And 
this  expression  "Trinity"  is  frequently  applied  to  Jesus, 
Mary,  and  Joseph. 

The  next  document  from  which  I  quote  is  The  Sacred 
Heart  —  a  very  popular  book  of  devotion  among  Roman 
Catholics.  I  find  the  following  passage  at  page  171 : 
"  Come,  poor  and  hardened  sinners,  how  great  soever  your 
crimes  may  be,  come  and  behold !  Mary  stretches  out  her 
hand,  opens  her  breast  to  receive  you.  Though  insensible 
to  the  great  concerns  of  your  salvation,  though  unfortunately 
proof  against  the  most  engaging  invitations  and  inspirations 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  fling  yourselves  at  the  feet  of  Mary,  this 
powerful  advocate.  Her  heart  is  all  love,  all  tenderness." 
The  amount  of  this  is,  that  those  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  fails 
or  refuses  to  convince  and  convert,  the  Virgin  Mary  has 
love  and  power  to  convince  and  convert. 

The  next  extract  I  take  is  from  the  encyclical  letter  of 
the  last  Pope,  Gregory  XVI.,  addressed  by  him  in  1832  to 
all  the  bishops  and  priests  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
scattered  throughout  the  whole  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
After  alluding  to  the  various  difficulties  with  which  the 
Church  was  surrounded,  he  closes  the  letter  by  saying  — 
"  And  that  all  may  have  a  successful  and  happy  issue, ^et  us 
raise  our  eyes  to  the  most  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  who  alone 
destroys  heresies,  who  is  our  greatest  hope,  yea,  the  entire 
2G 


302  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

ground  of  our  liope."  This  I  have  taken  from  the  Laity's 
Directory  for  the  year  1832  ;  and  this  language  of  the  last 
Pope  was  then  read  from  every  lioman  Catholic  altar 
throughout  this  kingdom. 

Bonald,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  thus  addresses  his 
clergy  in  his  Charge  in  1842  :  "  Catholic  families,  let  Mary 
be  in  the  midst  of  you  as  a  model  in  all  the  situations  of  life, 
as  the  mother  of  your  children,  the  mistress  of  your  dwell- 
ing. Poor  sufferers  from  sickness,  turn  your  dying  eyes  to 
the  image  of  the  mother  of  compassion.  May  our  last  sigh 
be  breathed  out,  with  the  last  words  of  St.  Thomas  of  Can- 
terbury falling  under  the  iron  of  his  assassins,  '  to  God  and 
to  Mary.' " 

On  a  church  at  Mons,  in  Belgium,  a  printed  paper  is  hung' 
up,  with  these  words  :  "  I  salute  you,  my  divine  queen. 
Amiable  mediatrix,  it  is  particularly  in  this  holy  place  you 
exercise  your  glorious  office,  and  open  to  poor  mortals  the 
treasures  of  divine  favors,  which,  Avithout  your  aid,  heaven 
w^ould  refuse." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  card  sold  by  the  booksellers 
in  Brussels,  and  illuminated  in  various  colors  :  — 

"A  Marie. 

"  Notre  Mere,  qui  etes  aux  cieux ;  O  Marie !  que  votre 
nom  soit  beni  a  jamais  ;  que  votre  amour  vienne  a  tous  les 
coeurs  ;  que  vos  desirs  s'accomplissent  en  la  terre  comme  au 
ciel.  Donnez-nous  aujourd'hui  la  grace  et  la  misericorde  ; 
donnez-nous  le  pardon  de  nos  fautes,  comme  nous  I'esperons 
de  votre  bonte  sans  bornes;  et  ne  nous  laissez  plus  suc- 
comber  a  la  tentation,  mais  delivrez-nous  du  mal.  Ainsi, 
soit  il." 

"To  Mary. 

"  Onr  Mother,  who  art  in  heaven  ;  hallowed  be  thy  name. 
Let  thy  love  come  to  all  our  hearts  ;  let  thy  will  be  done 
on  earth  as  in  heaven.     Give  us  this  day  grace  and  mercy ; 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  303 

give  us  tlie  pardon  of  our  sins,  as  we  hope  from  thy  un- 
bounded goodness.  Let  us  not  sink  under  temptation,  but 
deliver  us  from  evil.     Amen." 

But  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  specimen  of  Roman 
Catholic  idolatry  which  has  ever  been  presented  to  the 
Christian  public,  is  that  which  I  am  now  about  to  lay  before 
you.  I  searched  for  two  or  three  years  for  what  is  called 
The  Psalter  of  the  Iflessed  Bonaventure^  and  after  much  in- 
quiry I  found  an  extremely  ancient  edition  ;  and  the  book  is 
so  valuable,  though  seemingly  not  so,  that  it  is  probably 
worth  five  or  six  pounds.  It  has  no  title-page,  and  thus  it 
gives  proof  of  being  printed  at  a  very  distant  date.  St. 
Bonaventure  is  a  distinguished  saint  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Calendar,  and  on  Bonaventure's  day  every  Roman  Catholic 
in  England  prays  in  the  following  words  —  "  O  Lord,  who 
didst  give  blessed  Bonaventure  to  thy  people  for  a  minister 
of  eternal  salvation,  grant  that  he,  who  was  the  instructor  of 
our  life  here  on  earth,  may  become  our  intercessor  in  heav- 
en." Every  Roman  Catholic,  therefore,  must  feel  obliged 
to  any  one  who  brings  before  him  the  doctrines  which  Bo- 
naventure taught :  and  I  am  sure,  if  Roman  Catholics  have 
aught  of  the  light  of  Scripture  in  their  minds,  and  the  grace 
of  God  in  their  hearts,  they  will  cease  to  repeat  this  prayer ; 
as  soon  as  they  learn  Bonaventure's  sentiments,  they  will 
cast  from  them  his  writings  and  his  name,  as  a  disgrace 
even  to  the  Roman  communion. 

This  book,  which  is  written  in  the  old  Saxon  character, 
begins  by  quoting  certain  passages  from  the  Gospels,  by 
way  of  illustrating  the  honor  and  the  glory  of  Mary.  It 
commences  —  "  Come  unto  Mary,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  she  will  give  you  rest."  The  nineteenth 
Psalm,  according  to  this  Roman  Catholic  doctor  and  saint, 
runs  thus :  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  the  Virgin, 
and  the  firmament  shoAveth  forth  her  handywork."  In  the 
ninety-fifth  Psalm,  which  is  used  every  Sunday  in  the  Morn- 


304  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

ing  Service  of  the  Church  of  England,  we  read  —  "  Oh ! 
come,  let  us  sing  unto  our  Lady;  let  us  heartily  rejoice  in 
the  Virgin,  that  brings  us  salvation  ;  let  us  come  before  her 
presence  with  singing,  let  us  praise  her  together ;  come  let 
us  adore  and  fall  down  before  her ;  let  us  confess  our  sins  to 
her  with  mourning,  that  she  may  obtain  for  us  a  full  indul- 
gence." The  110th  Psalm,  one  would  suppose,  might  (if 
any)  escape  this  dreadful  corruption,  because  it  so  exjjressly 
applies  to  our  blessed  Lord ;  but  in  this  version  it  is  — 
"  The  Lord  said  unto  Mary,  Stand  thou  at  my  right  hand, 
until  I  have  made  thine  enemies  thy  footstooL"  And  the 
whole  Psalter  has  thus  in  every  psalm  the  name  of  God  ex- 
punged, and  the  name  of  Mary  substituted  for  it.  At  the 
close  of  the  Psalms  there  are  certain  other  pieces  of  devo- ' 
tion,  extracted  from  ancient  liturgies  and  rituals ;  and  one  of 
them  is,  perhaps,  in  its  pure  and  scriptural  form,  the  most 
sublime  and  exquisite  hymn  in  the  whole  compass  of  Christian 
theology  ;  and  I  admire  and  envy  the  Church  whose  assem- 
bled people  are  taught  to  surround  the  Everlasting  Throne, 
and  say,  with  one  heart  and  voice  —  "  We  praise  thee,  O 
God,  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the  Lord ;  all  the  earth 
doth  worship  thee,  the  Father  everlasting."  But  conceive 
how  every  Christian  feeling  must  be  shocked,  how  every 
holy  and  scriptural  sensibility  must  recoil,  when  in  every 
sentence  of  this  sublime  hymn  the  name  of  God  is  expunged, 
and  the  name  of  Mary  put  in  its  place.  This  has  been  done 
by  Bonaventure  in  the  edition  I  now  hold  in  my  hand. 
According  to  that  seraphic  doctor,  for  whose  instruction 
every  Roman  Catholic  is  bound  to  pray,  it  runs  thus  — 
"  We  praise  thee,  O  Mary ;  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  a 
virgin.  All  the  earth  doth  worship  thee,  the  spouse  of  the 
Eternal.  To  thee  angels  and  archangels,  to  thee  thrones 
and  principalities,  to  thee  choirs  and  cherubim  and  seraphim, 
continually  cry.  Holy,  lioly,  holy,  art  thou,  O  Mary,  mother 
of  God.     Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  the  glory  of  the  fruit 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  305 

of  thy  womb.  The  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  praise 
thee,  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets  praise  thee,  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs  praise  thee,  O  Virgin  ; "  and  so  on  to 
the  close  of  the  Te  Deum. 

After  this  document  there  is  another,  which  is  called  The 
Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  It  begins,  like  the  Litany  in 
the  Prayerbook,  with  a  scriptural  and  proper  aspiration ; 
for  all  that  the  Reformers  did,  in  compiling  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  was  just  to  weed  out  the  idolatry,  and 
leave  the  pure  theology  behind,  retaining  all  that  was  scrip- 
tural in  the  Roman  books  of  devotion,  and  expunging  all 
that  was  not.  Accordingly  this  Litany  begins  —  "  O  God, 
the  Father  of  heaven,  have  mercy  upon  us,  miserable  sin- 
ners ;  O  God  the  Son,  Redeemer  of  the  world,  have  mercy 
upon  us,  miserable  sinners ;  O  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  have  mercy  upon  us, 
miserable  sinners."  But  then  comes  —  "  Holy  Mary,  who 
exaltest  thy  people,  pray  for  us  ;  holy  Mother,  pray  for  us 
sinners  ; "  and  under  various  epithets  they  pray  for  Mary's 
intercession.  And  so  it  goes  on,  repeating  about  fifty  times, 
"  Holy  Mary,"  and  adding  some  prayer  ;  and  then  comes  — 
"  Be  merciful  unto  us,  and  spare  us,  O  Lady ;  from  all  evil 
and  mischief,  from  the  temptation  of  Satan  and  the  wrath  of 
God,  from  presumption  and  despair,  deliver  us,  O  Mary. 
By  thy  joy  and  satisfaction  at  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  by 
thy  grief  and  anguish  at  his  crucifixion,  by  thy  joy  at  his 
resurrection,  by  thy  belief  of  his  sending  the  Holy  Spirit, 
deliver  us  and  save  us,  O  Mary.  By  thy  joy  at  thine  own 
coronation,  deliver  us,  O  Mary."  And  then  comes  one  sen^ 
tence,  which  is  to  me  extremely  painful ;  for  I  remember, 
when  first  I  entered  a  parochial  church  in  England,  and  lis- 
tened to  the  liturgy,  read  with  great  beauty  and  power, 
there  was  one  clause  that  seemed  to  me  so  rich  in  all  that  is 
spiritual,  so  replete  with  all  that  is  expressive  in  human  lan- 
guage, and  so  instinct  with  all  that  is  truly  worthy  of  the 
26* 


306  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

God  whom  saints  rejoice  to  worship,  that  it  made  an  impres- 
sion on  my  mind  too  deep  to  be  ever  effaced  —  "  In  all  time 
of  our  tribulation,  in  all  time  of  our  wealth,  in  the  hour  of 
death,  and  in  the  day  of  judgment,  good  Lord,  deliver  us." 
How  beautiful,  how  scriptural,  how  apposite  to  a  truly  Prot- 
estant Church  !  But  "  how  is  the  gold  become  dim,  how  is 
the  most  fine  gold  changed,"  in  the  following  perversion  of 
this  sublime  petition  —  "  In  all  time  of  our  tribulation,  in  all 
time  of  our  wealth,  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  from  the  torments  of  the  damned,  deliver  us,  0 
Virgin  Mary  !  "  Contrast  these  prayers,  and  decide  which 
is  the  true  church  —  the  church  that  lifts  up  its  petitions  to 
God,  or  the  church  that  addresses  them  to  the  Virgin.  I  am 
sure  that  the  most  decided  Presbyterian,  Independent,  Mo- 
ravian, or  Wesleyan,  will  overlook  all  that  he  believes  to  be 
faulty  in  the  constitution  and  communion  of  the  Church  of 
England  ;  and,  as  far  as  its  Liturgy  and  its  Articles  are  the 
embodiment  of  its  everlasting  principles,  will  say  with  me  to 
that  Church,  as  a  noble  national  representative  of  truth, 
"Where  thou  goest  I  will  go,  where  thou  lodgest  I  will 
lodge ;  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my 
God." 

Some  one  will  probably  say,  "  You  have  admitted  that  it 
is  an  ancient  and  scarce  document  from  which  you  have 
now  been  reading :  is  it  altogether  fair  to  ransack  the  muse- 
ums of  the  country  for  the  obsolete  productions  of  a  dark 
and  forgotten  age,  and  to  adduce  these  as  proofs  of  the  pres- 
ent feeling  and  the  present  worship  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  ?  "  Now  I  say,  that  as  the  Church  of  Eome  claims 
to  be  semper  eadem  [always  the  same],  what  was  truth  Avith 
her  in  the  tenth  century,  is  truth  with  her  in  the  nineteenth ; 
and  if  the  Psalter  of  Bonaventure  was  recognized  by  her 
prelates  three  hundred  years  ago,  they  cannot  cease  to  rec- 
ognize it  now,  unless  they  will  cease  to  claim  infallibility  as 
their  prerogative,  and  admit  that  by  the  lapse  of  years  and 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  307 

the  light  of  Protestantism,  that  Church  has  become  improved. 
But  let  me  state,  that  I  have  now  ten  successive  editions  of 
Bonaventure's  Psalter,  which  were  purchased,  one  or  two 
of  them  by  a  lady  at  Rome,  and  one  of  them  at  the  doors 
of  St.  Peter's.  One  of  these,  which  is  at  this  moment  be- 
fore me,  is  called  by  St.  Bonaventure  The  Psalter  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  published  at  Rome  in  the  year  1839,  having 
the  imprimatur  and  reimprimatur  of  the  present  ecclesiasti- 
cal authorities  of  the  Holy  See ;  it  is  published  in  the  Italian 
or  vulgar  tongue,  sold  for  twopence,  and  possessed  and 
perused  and  prayed  by  the  most  devout  of  the  existing 
Roman  population.  In  this  book  there  are  the  Psalms 
and  Te  Deum,  precisely  as  I  have  quoted  them  from  the 
ancient  copy.  I  give  the  Te  Deum  in  Itahan,  as  now  used 
in  Rome. 

"  A  Te,  Madre  di  Dio,  innalziamo  le  nostre  lodi :  *  Te 
Maria  Vergine  predichiamo. 

Te  Sposa  dell'  Eterno  Padre  *  venera  tutta  la  terra. 

A  Te  gli  Angeli  tutti  e  gli  Arcangeli :  *  a  Te  i  Troni  e  i 
Principati  umili  si  inchinano. 

A  Te  le  Podesta  tutte  e  le  Virtii  superne  dei  cieli  *  e 
tutte  le  Dominazioni  prestano  ubbidienza. 

A  Te  i  Cori  tutti,  a  Te  i  Cherubini  e  i  Serafmi  *  assistono 
intorno  esultanti. 

A  Te  le  angeliche  creature  tutte  *  con  incessante  voce  di 
lode  cantano : 

Santa,  Santa,  Santa  Maria,  *  Genitrice  di  Dio,  Vergine 
insieme  e  Madre. 

Pieni  sono  i  cieli  e  la  terra  *  della  maestii  gloriosa  del 
frutto  del  tuo  grembo. 

Te  il  glorioso  coro  degli  Apostoli  *  Te  Madre  del  lore 
Creatore  collaudano. 

Te  il  puro  ceto  dei  Martiri  beati  *  Te  Genitrice  di  Cristo 
concelebra. 

Te  il  glorioso  esercito  dei  Confessori  *  tempio  della  Trin- 
ity sacrosanta  ti  appeUa. 


308  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Te  r  amabil  coro  delle  sante  Vergini  festanti,  *  esempio 
di  umilta  ti  encomia,  e  di  virginale  candore. 

Te  la  corte  celestiale  tutta  *  onora  come  Rcgina. 

A  Te  per  tutto  1'  universo  *  la  Chiesa  ineggia,  e  ti  in- 
voca. 

Madre  *  della  divina  Maesta. 

Te  veneranda,  te  vera  puerpera  del  Re  del  cielo,  *  santa, 
amorosa  e  pia. 

Tu  se'  Signora  degli  Angeli :  *  Tu  se'  la  porta  del  para- 
diso. 

Tu  scala  al  regno  *  ed  alia  gloria  del  cielo. 

Tu  talamo,  *  tu  area  di  pieta  e  di  grazia. 

Tu  se'  sorgente  e  vena  di  misericordia :  *  Tu  Sposa  e 
Madre  del  Re  de'  secoli  eterni. 

Tu  tempio  e  sacrario  dello  Spirito  Santo,  *  e  della  Trinita 
santissima  nobile  triclinio. 

Tu  mediatrice  fra  gli  uomini  e  Dio,  *  amorevole  a  noi 
mortali,  e  luce  di  cielo. 

Tu  fortezza  ai  combattenti,  avvocata  ai  peccatori :  *  Tu 
ai  miseri  pietoso  rifugio. 

Tu  dispensiera  del  celesti  doni,  *  sterminatrice  dei  demoni 
e  dei  superbi. 

Tu  Signora  del  mondo,  *  Regina  del  Cielo,  e  dopo  Dio 
nostra  unica  speranza. 

Tu  salute  a  chi  ti  invoca,  porto  ai  naufraganti,  *  sollievo 
ai  miseri,  e  ai  pericolanti  rifugio. 

Tu  Madre  di  tutti  i  Beati,  e  dopo  Dio  lor  gaudio  pieno, 
*  gioja  di  tutti  i  cittadini  del  cielo. 

Tu  promotrice  dei  giusti,  *  accoglitrice  dei  traviati,  Tu 
promessa  gia  ai  Patriarchi. 

Tu  luce  di  verita  ai  Profeti,  *  Tu  preconizzata  dagli 
Apostoli,  e  sapienza  di  quelli :  Tu  ammaestratice  degli  Evan- 
gelisti. 

Tu  fortezza  ai  Martiri,  esempio  ai  Confessori,  *  vanto, 
gloria  e  giubbilo  delle  Vergini. 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  309 

Tu  per  liberare  1'  uomo  dall'  esilio  di  morte  *  accogliesti 
nel  tuo  grembo  il  Figliuolo  di  Dio. 

Per  Te  debellato  V  avversario  nostro  antico,  *  fu  riaperto 
ai  Fedeli  il  regno  dei  cieli. 

Tu  col  Figliuolo  tuo  *  siedi  alia  destra  del  Padre. 

A  Lui  Tu  supplica  per  noi,  o  Vergine  Maria,  *  il  quale 
crediamo,  che  ci  abbia  un  giorno  a  giudicare. 

Te  dunque  noi  preghiamo,  perche  tu  voglia  venire  in 
soccorso  ai  servi  tuoi :  *  a  noi  redenti  col  prezioso  sangue 
del  tuo  Figliuolo. 

O  pia  Vergine  Maria,  *  deh !  fa  che  insieme  coi  Santi 
tuoi  siamo  della  eterna  gloria  riraunerati. 

Salvo  sia  per  te,  o  Signora,  il  popolo  tuo,  *  si  die  siamo 
fatti  partecipi  della  ereditk  del  tuo  Figliuolo. 

Sii  nostra  guida,  *  sii  sostegno  e  difesa  nostra  in  eterno. 

In  ciascun  giorno,  o  Maria  Signora  nostra,  *  ti  salutiamo. 

E  bramiamo  cantare  le  lodi  tue  *  coUa  mente  e  colla  voce 
in  sempiterno. 

Degnati,  dolcissima  Maria,  ora  e  sempre  *  conservarci 
illesi  da  peccato. 

Abbi,  o  Pia,  di  noi  misericordia :  *  abbi  inisericordia  di 
noi. 

Fa  misericordia  ai  figliuoli  tuoi :  *  che  in  Te,  o  Vergine 
Maria,  abbiamo  riposta  tutta  la  fiducia  nostra. 

In  te,  dolcissima  Maria,  noi  tutti  speriamo :  *  difendici  in 
eterno. 

A  Te  Ic  lodi,  a  Te  1'  impero,  *  a  Te  virtii  e  gloria  pei 
secoli  dei  secoli  Cosi  sia." 

And  to  show  you  the  popularity  of  this  formulary  of 
devotion,  sanctioned  as  it  is  by  the  present  Pope,  and  ap- 
proved by  the  appointed  censors,  I  may  mention,  that  in 
the  course  of  the  five  years  which  have  elapsed  from  1834 
to  the  end  of  1830,  it  went  through  ten  editions  ;  and  I  hold 
in  my  hand  at  this  moment  the  tenth  edition,  dated  Rome, 
1839,  which  is  an  exact  reprint  of  that  of  1834.     I  have 


310  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

also  recently  seen  a  gentleman,  to  whom  a  friend  at  Rome 
lias  sent  a  copy  of  the  eleventh  edition,  dated  1840,  and 
another  1844.  So  that,  on  an  average,  this  Psalter  of 
Bonaventure  is  so  popular,  as  to  require  at  least  two  edi- 
tions every  year ;  and  in  order  that  every  Roman  Catholic 
may  possess  it,  it  is  sold  at  the  very  smallest  possible  price 
at  which  it  can  be  printed.  Now^,  if  streams  be  the  purest 
near  to  the  fountain,  and  if  light  is  the  more  unsullied  and 
clear  the  nearer  we  approach  to  the  sun  from  which  it  ema- 
nates, may  we  not  presume,  that  the  theology  of  the  Romish 
Church  is  most  unalloyed  under  the  very  wing  and  superin- 
tendence of  his  holiness  the  Pope ;  and  that  if  we  are  to 
find  the  pure  and  unquestionable  exponent  of  Roman  Catho- 
lic theology  in  any  part  of  the  universe,  it  will  be  where 
censors  of  books  are  appointed,  as  at  Rome,  to  see  that 
nothing  erroneous  passes  through  the  press,  and  where  the 
Pope,  armed  with  the  tremendous  attribute  of  infallibility, 
inspects  the  publication,  adds  to  it  his  signature,  and  pro- 
nounces it  calculated  to  edify  and  instruct  the  faithful  ?  I 
therefore  contend,  that  I  have  made  out  a  charge  of  pure 
and  undiluted  idolatry  against  the  Church  of  Rome ;  and 
either  she  must  renounce  these  books  as  unscriptural  and 
abominable,  and  herself  as  fallible  and  guilty,  or  we  Prot- 
estants must  continue  to  bless  that  God,  who  has  emanc^* 
pated  our  Service  from  her  jwllutions ;  and  labor  by  every 
scriptural  and  Christian  effort  to  bring  the  victims  of  that 
dreadful  superstition  to  the  knowledge  of  those  truths, 
which  would  fall  like  sunbeams  amid  the  darkness  of  the 
Vatican,  — "  God  is  a  Spirit ; "  "  There  is  one  Mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus;"  "Thou 
shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 


*  Pope  Puis  VII.,  by  a  rescript  dated  March  21,  1815,  grants  three  hun- 
dr6d  da^-s  of  indulgence,  for  every  day  in  the  mouth  of  May  on  which  any 
one  oilers  a  special  service  to  the  Virgin. 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  311 

But  some  one  will  ask  —  "  How  can  the  Church  of  Rome 
justify  this  monstrous  idolatry,  either  as  it  refers  to  saints 
and  the  Virgin  Marj,  or  as  it  applies  to  images  of  them  ?  " 
For  you  are  aware,  that  on  the  Continent  of  P^urope,  (and  1 
can  speak  from  personal  inspection,  so  far  as  Belgium  is  con- 
cerned,) in  almost  every  church,  and  in  the  most  beautiful 
cathedrals,  surrounded  by  exquisite  paintings,  the  master- 
pieces of  a  Rubens  and  a  Vandyck,  you  will  find  in  the 
middle  a  huge  and  hideous  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
sometimes  nearly  six  feet  high,  dressed  out  in  blue  satin, 
trimmed  with  the  finest  Brussels  and  Valenciennes  lace ; 
and  in  the  morning  the  poor  women,  as  they  come  to  the 
market  with  their  eggs  and  butter,  leave  their  baskets  in  the 
porch,  hurry  into  the  cathedral,  fall  down  upon  their  knees 

There  is  inscribed  under  a  fresco  painting  of  the  Madonna,  iu  the  Via 
del  Vaccaro,  near  the  Church  of  the  SS.  Apostoli  at  Rome  — 

Sc  da  te  si  sospira, 

Ecco  hi  Sladre  che  phica  1'  ira  del  Eterno  Padre, 

E  col  materno  zelo  chiude  TAverno, 

E  ti  conduce  al  Cielo. 

(If  by  thyself  thou  sighest,  behold  the  Mother,  who  soothes  the  wrath  of 
the  Eternal  Father,  and  with  maternal  zeal,  closes  the  door  of  hell,  and 
leads  thee  up  to  heaven.) 

Not  far  from  the  same  place,  (in  the  Corso,  near  the  Piazza  di  Venezia,) 
is  an  oil  picture  of  the  Madonna,  with  these  words  underneath:  "Amiamo 
Cfesu  e  Maria,  e  le  loro  chiamate,  perched  ci  liberino  dall'  inferno." 

(Let  us  love  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  call  ye  on  them  both,  for  they  deliver 
us  from  hell.) 

Under  a  similar  portrait,  near  the  Chiesa  Nuova,  are  the  words  — 

Piegha,  0  mortal  che  passi,  umil  la  frontc, 
Or  del  Rosario  alia  gran  Vergine  pia ! 
Si  tu  brami  le  grazie,  eccotti  il  fonte ; 
E  salvo  tu  sarai,  s'  ami  Maria. 

(Bend  low,  0  mortal  passenger,  thy  head 
To  the  great  Virgin  of  the  Rosary; 
If  thou  desirest  graces,  here 's  their  fount; 
And  if  thou  lovest  Mary,  thou  art  safe.) 

See  also  numerous  instances  in  Seymour's  Pilgrimage  to  Rome. 


312  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

before  the  image,  repeat  a  few  prayers,  and  then  retire  to 
the  ordinary  business  of  the  day ;  and  again  in  the  after- 
noon, when  vespers  commence,  the  poor  people  are  crowd- 
ing round  the  image,  and  offering  up  their  petitions  to  it. 
And  even  in  this  country  there  are  some  pictures  extremely 
repulsive  to  a  Protestant.  I  recollect  in  a  Romish  chapel  at 
Wigan,  I  saw  over  the  pulpit  a  picture  of  God  the  Father 
on  one  side,  of  God  the  Son  on  the  other  side,  and  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  enthroned  between  the  two,  with  a  crown  upon 
her  head,  a;s  if  she  were  the  most  illustrious  personage  of 
all.  Now  you  naturally  ask,  How  can  Roman  Catholics 
put  up  with  these  practices,  when  there  are  such  express 
prohibitions  of  them  in  the  word  of  God  ? 

My  first  answer  is,  that  practically  the  word  of  God  is  to 
Roman  Catholics  a  sealed  book,  and  a  dead  letter.  They 
are  permitted  to  read  it  with  certain  restrictions ;  but  the 
conditions  are  so  complex  and  so  strict,  that  they  amount  to 
an  actual  prohibition  of  perusing  it  with  any  profitable  or 
valuable  result.  And  the  books  which  in  Ireland  and  on 
the  Continent  are  practically  substituted  for  the  Bible,  are 
what  are  called  the  Catechisms  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  I  have  now  before  me  three  of  these  Catechisms 
bound  together  —  one  of  them  published  by  the  four  Roman 
Catholic  Archbishops  of  Ireland,  another  by  the  most 
reverend  archbishop  Reilly,  and  the  other  the  Abridgment 
of  Christian  Doctrine.  I  will  now  read  you  an  account  of 
the  Ten  Commandments,  as  they  are  put  forth  in  these 
books,  circulated  under  such  high  auspices.  I  take  up  the 
first  — "  Q.  How  many  commandments  hath  God  given 
us  ?  "  "^.  Ten."  "  Q.  Say  them."  "^.  First,  <  I  am  the 
Lord  thy  God;  thou  shalt  hare  no  other  God  but  me.' 
Second,  '  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain.' " 
Every  Protestant  perceives  a  chasm;  and  that  which  is 
wanting,  is  the  Second  Commandment,  that  prohibits  the 
worshipping  and  bowing  down  to  any  graven  image,  or  to 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  313 

the  likeness  of  any  thing  in  heaven,  or  earth,  or  sea.  Next, 
I  take  the  Abridgment  of  Christian  Doctrine:  "^.  Say 
the  Ten  Commandments."  "^.  *  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God  : 
thou  shalt  have  no  strange  gods ;  thou  shalt  not  have  an 
idol  or  any  figure  to  adore.'  Second,  *  Thou  shalt  not  take 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain.' "  I  take  the  third 
Catechism:  "^.  Say  the  Ten  Commandments.'*  "^.  *I  am 
the  Lord  thy  God :  thou  shalt  have  no  strange  gods  before 
me.'  Second,  *  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord 
thy  God  in  vain.' "  And  if  you  ask  how  they  make  out  ten 
commandments,  they  do  as  the  dishonest  servant  did  with 
his  master's  goods ;  having  ten  parcels  to  deliver,  and  wish- 
ing to  keep  one  back,  he  took  the  largest  of  the  other  nine, 
and  divided  it  into  two,  so  as  to  keep  up  the  number  ten. 
In  the  Church  of  Rome,  they  take  the  last  Commandment 
and  split  it  into  two,  giving  the  wife  the  Ninth  Command- 
ment —  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife  "  —  and 
giving  the  goods  the  Tenth ;  showing  their  courtesy,  as  a 
priest  of  the  Church  of  Rome  expressed  it,  (but  which 
seems  to  exceed  their  Christianity,)  by  their  anxiety  to 
separate  the  wife  from  the  goods,  and  to  assign  her  the 
honor  of  a  distinct  and  whole  Commandment. 

This  is  the  case  in  Ireland ;  and  on  the  Continent  the 
very  same  thing  takes  place.  In  an  Italian  Catechism  now 
before  me,  called  Dottrina  Christiana,  commanded  by  Pope 
Clement  VIIL,  and  drawn  up  by  the  celebrated  Cardinal 
Bellarmine,  and  revised  and  approved  by  the  Congregation 
of  Sacred  Rites,  and  appointed  for  the  use  of  the  faithful, 
dated  Rome,  1836,  printed  with  the  license  and  the  privilege 
of  the  superiors,  I  find  the  Ten  Commandments  begin  thus : 
"  First,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  thou  shalt  have  none  other 
gods  before  me.  Second,  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of 
God  in  vain."  And  I  cannot  but  observe  in  passing,  that 
as  in  Italy  the  light  is  darker  than  in  Ireland,  they  take 
leave  not  only  to  exclude  the  Second  Commandment,  but  to 
27 


314  TUE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

tamper  with  the  Fourth ;  and  this  accounts  for  the  painful 
and  universal  fact,  that  throughout  the  whole  Continent  of 
Europe  the  Sabbath  day  is  almost  extinguished,  and  the 
chimes  of  its  bells  convey  no  sacredness  to  the  ear.  The 
Fourth  Commandment  stands — not  "  Remember  the  Sabbath 
day  to  keep  it  holy ;  six  days  slialt  thou  labor,"  and  so  on  — 
but  "  Remember  to  keep  holy  the  festivals  (le  feste)."  This 
is  indeed  "teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of 
men." 

The  reason  of  all  this  cannot  be  misunderstood.  The 
alternative  was  before  the  Church  of  Rome,  either  to  bring 
her  practices  up  to  God's  word,  which  was  her  duty,  or  to 
bring  down  God's  word  to  the  level  of  her  practices.  She, 
worthy  of  the  name  and  the  principles  of  a  corrupt  and 
apostate  communion,  has  brought  down  God's  most  holy 
word  to  the  level  of  her  most  unholy  practices ;  and  since 
she  felt  that  it  rebuked  her,  and  prophesied  evil  concern- 
ing her,  while  she  continued  in  her  sins,  she  has  extin- 
guished the  testimony  of  the  prophet,  lest  her  misguided 
people  should  catch  a  gleam  of  celestial  and  holy  day,  and 
come  forth  from  that  fearful  superstition,  in  which  all  that 
is  pure  has  evaporated,  all  that  is  true  has  been  crushed,  and 
all  that  is  holy  has  been  desecrated  and  defiled. 

To  show  you  that  the  Church  of  Rome  does  not  scruple 
at  making  God's  word  speak  what  will  favor  her  practices, 
I  will  quote  a  passage  from  a  celebrated  Catechism,  to  which 
I  have  already  referred  —  the  "Abridgment  of  Christian 
Doctrine,"  p.  119.  "(?.  Is  it  lawful  to  honor  the  angels  and 
saints  ?  "  "  A.  Yes."  "  Q.  How  prove  you  that  ?  "  "^. 
Revelation  xix.  10:  'And  I  fell  down,  said  he,  to  worship 
before  the  feet  of  the  angel  which  showed  me  these  things  ;'" 
—  with  fearful  tact,  you  observe,  vindicating  her  dreadful 
practice  by  leaving  out  the  remainder  of  the  text,  which  con- 
tains all  the  meaning  —  "  And  he  said  unto  me.  See  thou  do 
it  not;  I  am  thy  fellow-servant:  worship  God" 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  315 

The  Church  of  Rome  appeals,  indeed,  to  several  portions 
of  Scripture  in  vindication  of  these  idolatrous  practices,  and 
alleges  that  she  is  warranted  in  invocating  and  worshipping 
the  saints  by  express  passages  of  Holy  Writ.  To  these  I 
must  now  call  your  attention. 

When  we  tell  a  Roman  Catholic  what  seems  to  us  plain 
and  obvious  common  sense,  that  we  cannot  conceive  how,  if 
a  saint  be  a  creature  —  the  Virgin  Mary,  for  instance,  (glo- 
rified and  beatified,  as  we  believe  her  to  be,  saved  by  the 
Redeemer's  blood,  and  not  in  virtue  of  her  own  merit)  — 
being,  by  the  very  definition  of  a  creature,  restricted  to  one 
locality,  she  can  hear  the  prayers  offered  to  her  at  the  same 
moment  in  London,  in  Paris,  in  Brussels,  in  Rome,  in  Peters- 
burgh,  and  attend  to  the  wants  of  all  her  suppliants ;  and 
when  we  add,  that  we  see  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  saints 
in  heaven  are  directly  cognizant  of  prayers  offered  up  on 
earth  (not  disputing  that  they  may  be  informed  of  them), 
or  that  they  are  able  to  respond  to  them,  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic instantly  lays  his  finger  on  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the 
Gospel  of  Luke,  and  says,  there  is  evidence  that  the  angels 
in  heaven  do  hear  and  know  what  is  doing  upon  earth,  for 
he  reads  —  "I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of 
the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  There- 
fore, he  says,  the  saints  ayound  the  Throne  know  what  is 
transacting  in  our  world,  and  it  is  not  in  vain  to  pray  to 
them;  they  know,  it  is  here  expressly  declared,  when  a 
sinner  repents.  Now  let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  whole 
passage;  for  I  conceive,  that  instead  of  vindicating  the 
Romish  practice,  it  distinctly  supports  the  Protestant  doc- 
trine "Then  drew  near  unto  him  all  the  publicans  and 
sinners,  for  to  hear  him.  And  the  Pharisees  and  scribes 
murmured,  saying.  This  man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth 
with  them.  And  he  spake  this  parable  unto  them,  saying, 
What  man  of  you,  having  an  hundred  sheep,  if  he  lose  one 
of  them,  doth  not  leave  the  ninety-and-nine  in  the  wilder- 


316  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

ness,  and  go  after  that  which  is  lost  until  he  find  it?  And 
when  he  hath  found  it,  he  layeth  it  on  his  shoulders,  rejoic- 
ing. And  when  he  cometh  home,  he  calleth  together  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  saying  unto  them,  llejoice  with  me ; 
for  I  have  found  my  sheep  which  was  lost.  I  say  unto  you, 
that  likewise  joy  shall  be  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety-and-nine  just  persons, 
which  need  no  repentance."  That  is  to  say,  as  the  man 
who  has  found  his  sheep  which  was  lost  calls  together  his 
friends,  and  tells  them  of  the  fact,  that  they  may  rejoice 
wdth  him,  so  God  proclaims,  amid  the  choirs  of  angels  and 
of  saints  in  heaven,  what  they  are  ignorant  of,  that  some 
poor  sinner  has  repented ;  and  then  they  rejoice,  not  because 
they  see  what  is  done  upon  earth,  but  because  tliey  are  told 
by  him,  who  has  no  pleasure  in  the  death,  but  only  in  the 
repentance  of  his  people. 

Another  passage  quoted  by  Roman  Catholics  in  favor  of 
this  tenet  of  theirs,  is  in  Genesis  xlviii.  15  :  "  And  he  blessed 
Joseph,  and  said,  God,  before  whom  my  fathers  Abraham 
and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God  which  fed  me  ail  my  life  long 
unto  this  day,  the  angel  which  redeemed  me  from  all  evil, 
bless  the  lads."  The  Roman  Catholic  disputant  quotes  the 
latter  clause  —  "The  angel  which  redeemed  me  from  all 
evil,  bless  the  lads ; "  but  he  omits  the  preceding  part  of  the 
sentence,  which  in  fact  determines  the  meaning  of  it.  For 
it  is  evidently  the  same  personage,  who  in  the  first  limb  ot 
the  sentence  is  called  "  God  before  whom  my  fathers  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  did  walk ; "  in  the  second  limb,  "  the  God 
which  fed  me  all  my  life  long  unto  this  day ; "  and  in  the 
third  limb,  "  the  angel  which  redeemed  me  from  all  evil." 
"When  we  take  this  in  connection  with  the  fact,  that  Christ 
is  called  in  the  Old  Testament  Scripturest"  the  Angel  of  the 
Covenant,"  and  that  in  the  third  of  Exodus,  "  the  Angel  of 
the  Lord  "  appeared  in  the  burning  bush,  and  assumed  and 
appropriated  the  name  peculiar  to  Deity,  —  viz.  Jehovah, — 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  317 

we  see  at  once,  that  "  the  angel  '*  spoken  of  by  Jacob  is  the 
Angel  Jehovah,  "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person."  Let  me  just  explain  to 
you,  as  I  am  at  this  point,  that  the  expression,  "  the  angel 
of  the  Lord,"  in  our  version,  is  not  the  literal  translation  of 
the  original ;  the  exact  phrase  is  "  the  Angel  Jehovah,"  or, 
more  literally,  "  the  sent  Jehovah,"  or,  still  more  appropri- 
ately, "  Shiloh  Jehovah  ; "  implying  at  once,  that  the  Angel 
Lord  was  Jesus  Christ,  who,  it  would  seem,  so  loved  the 
lost,  and  so  intensely  thirsted  after  the  redemption  of  the 
world,  that  before  he  was  incarnate,  he  .paid  visits  —  even  if 
"  like  angel  visits,  few  and  far  between  "  —  to  our  dismantled 
and  marred  land,  as  if  experimentally  to  know  and  gauge 
the  height  and  depth  of  that  sympathy  which  he  should 
have  to  feel,  before  the  lost  sheep  should  be  brought  home 
to  the  fold. 

Another  passage  quoted  by  Roman  Catholics,  in  defence 
of  the  worship  of  saints,  is  Hosea  xii.  4 :  "  Yea,  he  [Jacob] 
had  power  over  the  angel,  and  prevailed ;  he  wept,  and  made 
supplication  unto  him ;  he  found  him  in  Bethel,  and  there 
he  spake  with  us  "  —  and  the  Roman  Catholic  stops  there, 
instead  of  adding  the  words  that  follow  —  "even  the  Lord 
God  of  Hosts ;  the  Lord  is  his  memorial."  It  was  no  cre- 
ated angel,  but  "  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts ; "  and  nothing  but 
mutilation  of  Sacred  Scripture  makes  any  other  meaning. 
I  have  found  it  to  be  an  invariable  result,  that  the  very  pas- 
sages which  a  Roman  Catholic  quotes  to  substantiate  his 
position,  may,  when  fully  and  fairly  quoted,  be  most  legiti- 
mately appealed  to  for  the  overthrow  of  the  doctrines  he 
professes  to  build  on  them. 

In  order  further  to  satisfy  you  upon  this  subject,  I  will  now 
proceed  to  adduce  some  passages  of  Scripture  that  bear  more 
directly  upon  it.  Let  me  first  show  you  that  there  is  recog- 
nized in  Scripture  but  one  Mediator  between  God  and  us. 
1  Timothy  ii.  5 :  "There  is  one  God,  and  one  Mediator  be- 
27* 


318  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

tween  God  -and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus : "  just  a§  it  is  a 
cardinal  doctrine  of  natural  religion,  that  there  is  one  God, 
so  it  is  a  cardinal  doctrine  of  Christianity,  or  revealed  reli- 
gion, that  there  is  one  Mediator.  John  vi.  68 :  "  Lord,  to 
whom  shall  we  go  ? "  to  saints,  to  angels,  to  seraphim,  to 
cherubim  ?  No ;  "  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life."  John 
xiv.  6 :  "  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth, 
and  the  life  ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me  : " 
neither  by  saint,  nor  angel,  nor  cherubim,  but  "by  me." 
Acts  iv.  12:  "Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other,  for 
there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men, 
-whereby  we  must  be  saved,  but  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ." 
Would  that  these  words  were  written  upon  the  altars,  and 
upon  the  doors  and  lintels  and  garments  and  whole  ritual  of 
Rome !  would  they  were  inscribed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  on 
the  people's  hearts !  Ephesians  ii.  18 :  "  For  through  him 
we  both  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father."  \ye 
Protestants,  therefore,  must  be  safe,  while  Roman  Catholic3 
(to  take  the  most  favorable  view)  may  be  wrong ;  for  they 
are  trying  to  find  admission  to  the  Father  by  doors  that  we 
dare  not  attempt,  and  which  I  believe  never  have  been 
opened,  or  at  least  are  nailed  up  from  the  Fall.  1  John  ii. 
1 :  "If  any  man  sin,  we  have "  —  what ?  ten  thousand  saints 
and  mediators  ?  No ;  but  —  "  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous ; "  and  he  is  our  advocate  oh  the 
only  basis  —  viz.  his  atonement  —  on  which  intercession  can 
have  any  virtue  ;  for  "  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and 
not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 
Hebrews  vii.  25  :  "  He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost, 
that  come  unto  God  by  him ; "  and  I  appeal  to  every  Roman 
Catholic  in  this  assembly.  Are  not  Protestants  safe?  for 
they  "  come  unto  God  by  Christ "  only,  and  he  is  "  able  to 
save  such  to  the  uttermost."  What  is  the  limit  of  "  utter- 
most ?  "  Infinitude  itself.  And  if  Protestants  are  "  saved 
to  the  uttermost  by  Christ,"  what  need  of  the  intercession 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  319 

and  assistance  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  other  saints  ?  Again, 
Hebrews  xii.  24 :  "  Ye  are  come,"  at  once,  without  interven- 
tion, "  to  Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to 
the  blood  of  sprinkling." 

In  the  next  place,  I  shall  show  that  we  have  no  warrant 
whatever  in  Scripture,  to  pray  to  saints  that  are  in  glory. 
Christ's  command  is  (Matthew  xi.  28),  not,  "Come  unto 
Mary,"  or  "  Come  unto  angels  or  to  saints,"  but  "  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  Again  (John  xiv.  13),  "Whatsoever  ye  shall 
ask  in  my  name,  that  will  I  do."  And  again,  "  Whosoever 
shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."  And 
again,  "  Ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to 
fear,  but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby 
we  cry  "  —  what !  "  Hail,  Mary  ?  "  "  O  blessed  Joseph,  hear 
us  ?  "  "  O  queen  of  heaven,  deliver  us  ?  "  No,  but  —  "  where- 
by we  cry,  Abba,  Father ; "  at  once,  directly,  and  without 
the  intervention  of  any  but  Christ  the  Mediator :  "  And  be- 
cause ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son 
into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father." 

Again  :  What  is  prayer  ?  Prayer  is  a  sacrifice,  just  as 
praise  is  a  sacrifice.  Not  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  :  there  is 
but  one  proi)itiatory  sacrifice ;  but  praise  and  prayer  and 
almsgiving  are  all  sacrifices.  Now,  Where  only  must  sacri- 
fices be  offered  ?  On  the  altar.  But  what  altar  have  we  ? 
Not  the  miserable  mimicry  of  altars  raised  within  the  pale 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion ;  not  the  still  more  lame 
and  contemptible  mimicry  of  Rome's  altars  raised  by  Trac- 
tarian  doctors ;  these  are  altars  that  a  mouse  may  under- 
mine, that  a  hammer  may  destroy,  that  time  will  overthrow : 
but  we  have  an  Altar  whose  base  is  the  circumference  of 
the  earth,  or  rather  whose  centre  or  apex  is  everywhere, 
and  whose  circumference  is  nowhere  ;  and  on  this  altar  we 
are  to  lay  our  praises  and  our  prayers  and  our  thanksgiv- 
ings, knowing  that  it  is  "  the  altar  that  sanctifies  the  gift," 


320  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

and  makes  our  praises  and  prayers  acceptable  to  God.  And 
as  it  is  to  God  that  all  sacrifice  must  be  offered  even  on  Ro- 
man Catholic  principles,  we  see  at  once,  that  as  praise  and 
prayer  are  spiritual  sacrifices,  we  are  to  lift  them  up  to  God 
only,  upon  Christ  the  only  Altar,  and  rejoice  to  know  that 
there  they  meet  a  glorious  acceptance. 

When  the  high-priest  had  offered  sacrifice  without,  he 
went  alone  unto  the  Holy  of  Holies,  to  intercede.  So  Christ, 
having  offered  himself  without  spot  unto  God  without,  went 
into  the  true  holy  place,  that  is,  the  heavenly,  alone,  to  pour 
down,  by  his  intercession  in  heaven,  what  he  procured  by 
his  sacrifice  on  earth.  With  him  there  are  no  other  media- 
tors :  he  is  alone. 

In  the  next  place,  I  assert  that  there  is  no  evidence  what- 
ever that  the  saints  in  heaven  have  any  cognizance  directly 
of  what  is  doing  upon  earth.  Ecclesiastes  ix.  5  :  "  The  liv- 
ing know  that  they  shall  die,  but  the  dead  know  not  any 
thing,  neither  have  they  any  more  a  reward,  for  the  memory 
of  them  is  forgotten  ;  also  their  love,  and  their  hatred,  and 
their  envy  is  now  perished,  neither  have  they  any  more  a 
portion  for  ever  in  any  thing  that  is  done  under  the  sun."  2 
Kings  ii.  9  :  "  And  Elijah  said  unto  Elisha,  Ask  what  I  shall 
do  for  thee  before  I  shall  be  taken  away  from  thee ; "  im- 
plying that  when  admitted  into  heaven  he  could  do  nothing 
for  him,  and  all  that  he  did  for  him  must  be  done  before  he 
was  taken  from  earth.  God  speaks  thus  to  the  good  king 
Josiah  (2  Kings  xxii.  20)  :  "  Behold,  I  will  gather  thee  unto 
thy  fathers,  and  thou  shalt  be  gathered  into  thy  grave  in 
peace,  and  thine  eyes  shall  not  see  all  the  evil  which  I  will 
bring  upon  this  place."  Job  xiv.  20  :  "  His  sons  come  to 
honor,  and  he  knoweth  it  not."  Isaiah  Ixiii.  16  :  "  Thou  art 
our  Father,  though  Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us." 

Let  me  now  turn  your  attention  more  especially  to  pas- 
sages that  expressly  repudiate  all  worshipping  of  saints  or 
angels.     Colossians  ii.   18:    "Let  no  man  beguile  you  of 


THE   INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  321 

your  reward,  in  a  voluntary  humility  and  worshipping  of 
angels,  intruding  into  those  things  which  he  hath  not  seen." 
Hebrews  i.  14:  "Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent 
forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?  " 
—  not  to  receive  their  prayers,  but  to  minister  for  them  ac- 
cording to  the  bidding  of  God.  "  I  fell  down,"  says  John, 
"  before  the  feet  of  the  angel  which  showed  me  these  things ; 
tlien  saitli  he  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not,  for  I  am  thy  fel- 
low-servant: worship  Gody 

With  respect  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  great  object  of  Ro- 
man Catholic  idolatry,  to  show  that  all  worship  to  her  is 
interdicted  and  forbidden  in  Scripture,  I  will  refer  to  a  dis- 
cussion with  a  priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  —  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Sisk,  then  priest  of  the  chapel  at  Chelsea,  in  the 
town  of  Reading  —  on  the  subject  of  the  worship  which 
ought  to  be  given  to  the  Virgin  Mary^  in  which  he  endeav- 
ored to  prove  that  it  was  lawful  to  give  to  her  all  the  worship 
rendered  to  her  in  the  Romish  Church  ;  and  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  was  not  only  warranted  by  tradition  (in  which  I 
did  not  profess  to  follow  him),  but  by  Scripture,  in  venerat- 
ing the  Virgin.  He  quoted  the  text  —  "All  generations 
shall  call  me  blessed ; "  and  argued  that  she  was  therefore 
entitled  to  a  homage  and  a  veneration  altogether  peculiar 
and  sui  generis  ;  such,  in  short,  I  may  add,  as  that  of  which 
I  have  given  you  some  specimens.  My  reply  was,  that  what 
proves  too  much,  fails  to  prove  the  point  for  which  it  is 
quoted  ;  we  read  "  Blessed  are  the  meek,"  "  Blessed  are  they 
that  mourn,"  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God 
and  keep  it ; "  but  do  we  therefore  fall  down  and  worship 
them  ?  If  a  person,  because  pronounced  blessed,  is  to  be 
worshipped,  every  Christian  must  fall  down  and  worship  his 
neighbor,  in  the  strains  in  which  the  Roman  Catholic  adores 
the  Virgin  Mary.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  you  forget  that  there  is 
a  peculiar  blessedness  ascribed  to  the  Virgin  Mary ;  for  it 
is  written  of  her,  ^  Blessed  art  thou  among  women  : '  Mary 


322  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

being  obviously  selected  as  the  object  of  peculiar  and  distin- 
guisliing  blessedness."  I  replied  that,  if  tliis  was  the  princi- 
ple on  which  he  acted,  I  would  prove  it  the  duty  of  the  Ro- 
man Church  to  take  down  every  statue  and  picture  of  the 
Virgin,  and  put  up  the  picture  of  another  in  its  place ;  for  I 
read  in  Judges  v.  24  :  "  Blessed  above  women  shall  Jael,  the 
wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite,  be."  If  Mary  is  to  be  worship- 
ped, because  she  is  pronounced  "  blessed  among  women,"  a 
fortiori  should  Jael  be  worshipped,  for  she  is  blessed  above 
women  ;  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  would  therefore 
take  a  step  towards  a  more  scriptural  worship,  if  she  were 
to  expunge  the  name  of  Mary  from  every  Litany,  and  to 
substitute  the  name  of  Jael,  the  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite. 

But  in  the  word  of  God  there  are  passages  so  expressly 
and  distinctly  bearing  against  the  invocation  of  Mary,  that 
there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  our  blessed  Lord  not  only 
foresaw  the  awful  idolatry  which  would  obtain  upon  this  very 
subject,  but  made  special  provision  in  the  Scriptures  against 
it ;  and  to  me  this  is  a  most  remarkable  evidence  of  the 
truth  and  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  On  every  occasion 
in  which  the  Virgin  Mary  is  introduced  in  the  Bible,  our 
Lord  says  something  calculated  to  repress  any  disposition  to 
worship,  or  to  attach  supernatural  claims  to  her  person. 
Mary  herself  proves  that  she  felt  she  was  saved,  not  because 
she  was  the  mother  of  the  Saviour's  flesh,  but  because  she 
had  "  washed  her  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb."  She  sings,  with  the  faith,  humility,  and  joy 
of  a  true  believer,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my 
spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour."  But  who  needs  a 
''  Saviour  ?  "  A  sinner.  Mary,  notwithstanding  the  epithet 
immaculate,  which  the  Church  of  Rome  bestows  upon  her, 
owned  herself  a  sinner,  and  a  sinner  that  sought  mercy  and 
acceptance  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour  of  sinners.  On  one 
occasion  we  read,  (Luke  ii.  27,)  that  "  a  certain  woman  of 
the  company  lift  up  her  voice  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed  is 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  323 

the  womb  that  bare  thee,  and  the  paps  which  thou  hast 
sucked  ; "  that  is,  she  was  an  embryo  lioraan  Catholic  ;  the 
principle  and  germ  of  the  Marian  worship  was  in  that  wo- 
man's heart.  What  did  our  Lord  reply  ?  Did  he  say,  "  Let 
her  be  the  empress  of  the  earth,  let  her  be  the  queen  of 
heaven  ;  by  all  means  come  to  me  through  her  ?  "  No :  but 
he  said,  "  Yea,  rather  blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word 
of  God  and  keep  it."  What  a  sublime  and  magnificent  re- 
buke !  yet  like  Christ's  severest  rebukes,  bearing  a  blessing 
in  the  heart  of  it.  And  how  should  we  pray,  that  every 
Roman  Catholic  should  feel  this  blessed  truth,  that  the  man 
who  hears  God's  word  in  the  depths  of  his  heart,  and  does 
it,  is  more  blessed  in  so  doing,  than  the  Virgin  Mary  was  in 
being  selected  to  be  the  mother  of  our  Lord  according  to  the 
flesh !  On  another  occasion,  (Matthew  xii.  47,)  we  find  the 
same  disposition  to  check  and  crush  the  first  approach  to 
Marian  worship  :  "  One  said  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  mother 
and  thy  brethren  stand  without,  desiring  to  speak  with  thee. 
But  he  answered  and  said  unto  him  that  told  him.  Who  is 
my  mother,  and  who  are  my  brethren  ?  And  he  stretched 
forth  his  hand  towards  his  disciples,  and  said,  Behold  my 
mother  and  my  brethren ;  for  whosoever  shall  do  the  will 
of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother, 
and  sister,  and  mother."  A  clear  and  decisive  intimation,  is 
this,  that  all  the  affinities  which  had  been  generated  between 
the  Son  of  God  and  his  virgin  mother,  were,  in  the  estimate 
of  Heaven,  and  for  the  purposes  of  our  salvation,  as  practi- 
cally extinguished  for  ever ;  and  that  the  only  bond  which 
can  knit  the  sinner  to  the  Saviour,  is  faith  in  his  blood,  and 
cordial  repose  in  his  perfect  righteousness  —  Christ  within 
our  hearts  as  the  hope  of  glory.  And,  says  the  apostle,  to 
confirm  this,  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other ;  for 
there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  amongst  men, 
whereby  we  must  be  saved." 

Mary  made  no  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and 


324  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

therefore  is  destitute  of  every  thing  like  a  valid  plea  on 
which  to  raise  a  superstructure  of  an  effectual  intercession. 

But  there  is  no  room  for  the  interposing  mediation  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  if  we  consider  what  Christ  is.  He  is  God- 
Man.  As  such  he  is  a  perfect  pathway  to  glory.  Sin 
made  a  yawning  chasm  between  the  absolutely  holy  God 
and  the  guilty  and  ruined  creature  ;  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  his  death,  removed  sin,  which  is  the  separating 
element  between  God  and  us,  and  introduced  himself  as  the 
uniting  element,  the  bridge,  the  glorious  ladder,  connecting 
heaven  and  earth.  Christ  is  God,  on  the  one  hand,  and  can 
hold  communion  with  God  ;  and  he  is  man,  on  the  other,  and 
can  hold  communion  with  man.  There  is,  then,  no  room  for 
the  Virgin  Mary  between  Christ  and  God,  for  he  is  God,  and 
in  close  contact  with  God ;  and  there  is  no  room  for  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  between  Christ  and  man,  for  he  is  very  man,  in 
close  contact  with  man,  entering  into  the  depths  of  our  sym- 
pathies, conversant  with  the  sources  of  our  tears,  and  able 
to  call  the  orphan  his  brother,  and  the  widow  his  sister. 
Therefore,  from  the  throne  of  God,  enshrined  amid  glory 
unutterable,  down  to  the  lowest  depths  of  human  ruin,  there 
is  no  room  for  the  Virgin  Mary ;  for  Christ  spans  the 
whole  chasm,  and  forms  a  pathway  so  wide  that  the  greatest 
sinner  may  walk  in  it,  and  yet  so  holy  that  the  least  sin  is 
not  tolerated  in  it. 

Our  blessed  Lord's  recorded  rebuke  to  Mary  herself, 
teaches  us  his  own  mind  on  this  solemn  subject.  In  the 
second  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  we  find  Mary,  at 
the  wedding  feast,  exhibiting  those  sinful  feelings  of  pride 
by  which  many  a  Mary  is  still  characterized.  On  seeing 
that  her  relatives  had  not  wine  enough  to  supply  all  the 
guests  that  had  been  invited,  and  fearing  lest  the  poverty  of 
a  relative's  feast  should  be  exposed,  she  said,  in  delicate  but 
intelligible  terms,  "  They  have  no  wine  : "  meaning  thereby 
that  Christ  should  work  a  miracle  to  gratify  her  pride. 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  325 

What  did  our  Lord  reply?  "Woman,"  (the  language  of 
respect,)  "  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  "i"  —  as  much  as  to 
say,  "  I  must  *  tread  the  wine-press  alone ; '  even  a  mother's 
tears  must  not  mingle  with  the  expiatory  blood  of  redemp- 
tion ;  of  the  people  there  must  be  'none  with  me  ;*  in  the 
great  work  of  atonement  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  thee ; 
thou  neither  hast,  nor  art  able  to  have,  any  share  here." 
Mary's  privilege  it  was  to  listen  to  his  gracious  words,  and 
Mary's  exemplary  advice  it  was,  "  What  he  saith  unto  you, 
do."  One  would  suppose  that  such  a  rebuke  as  this  would 
extinguish  all  pretexts  and  apologies  for  the  Marian  wor- 
ship on  the  part  of  Roman  Cathohcs.  How  do  they  meet 
it?  They  present,  in  connection  with  this,  a  very  awful 
specimen  of  tampering  with  God's  word.  The  very  same 
Greek  words  which  we  here  translate  "  What  have  I  to  do 
with  thee  ? "  occur  again  in  Mark  v.  7,  when  the  demon 
said  to  our  Lord,  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  thee,  Jesus,  thou 
Son  of  the  Most  High  God  ?  "  Now,  in  this  latter  passage 
the  Church  of  Rome  translates  these  words  just  as  we  do ; 
but  in  the  former  (John  ii.),  where  a  clear  rebuke  of  their 
idolatry  is  implied,  they  have  translated  the  words  in  a  way 
that  destroys  their  rebuke,  by  destroying  their  meaning  — 
"  Woman,  what  is  it  to  thee  and  to  me  ?  "  How  is  it,  that 
in  the  one  passage,  where  a  mere  historical  incident  is  con- 
cerned, the  Church  of  Rome  translates  the  words  one  way, 
and  this  way  full  of  obvious  meaning  —  and  in  the  other 
passage,  where  the  Virgin  Mary  is  reproved,  that  church 
translates  the  words  in  another  way,  which  renders  them 
utterly  unintelligible  ?  The  reason  is  obvious ;  the  worship 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  is  just  that  point  on  which  the  Church 
of  Rome  seems,  like  the  idolaters  of  old,  "  mad  upon  their 
idols  ; "  and  because  God's  word  rebukes  it,  she  will  rather 
abandon  and  corrupt  the  truths  of  that  word,  than  abandon 
her  own  corrupt  and  idolatrous  worship. 

But   throughout   the   whole   of  Scripture,   we   find   our 
28 


326  THE    GKEAT    APOSTASY. 

blessed  Lord  exhibited  as  the  Saviour  of  the  people,  and  in 
no  one  instance  is  the  Virgin  Mary  thus  set  forth.  Heaven 
and  earth,  and  all  between,  witness  constantly  to  Jesus 
Christ.  If  1  ask  the  Apostle  Paul  who  is  to  be  the  great 
object  of  our  hope  and  faith,  he  answers,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
If  I  appeal  to  the  dying  martyr  Stephen,  in  the  immediate 
prospect  of  a  judgment-seat,  his  departing  cry  was,  (for  he 
died  a  Protestant,  not  a  Roman  Catholic,)  —  not  "  Mary," 
but  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  And  here  let  me 
mention  a  little  incident,  illustrative  of  the  intensity  of 
Romish  idolatry.  A  Roman  Catholic  layman,  distinguished 
for  his  talent  and  his  scholarship,  with  whom  I  had  a  dis- 
cussion, w^as  laid  upon  a  sick-bed;  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England  and  myself  resolved  to  call  upon  him. 
I  said,  when  we  were  admitted,  "  My  dear  friend,  we  have 
discussed  the  points  at  issue  between  us  long  enough  ;  now 
let  us  have  done  with  controversy,  and  do  just  listen  to  me, 
while  I  try  to  tell  you  what  the  blessed  Gospel  is,  in  which 
I  place  all  my  trust."  He  consented ;  and  I  tried  to  preach 
to  him  the  true  Atonement,  and  the  true  Purgatory,  and  the 
only  Sacrifice;  and  I  asked,  "  Cannot  you  take  up  the  lan- 
gut^ge  of  dying  Stephen,  and  if  called  to  leave  this  bed,  and 
stand  before  God,  would  not  your  last  words  be,  '  Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit  ? '  Surely,  I  said,  in  the  prospect 
of  eternity,  Mary  won't  do."  After  a  deliberate  pause,  he 
spoke  :  "  If  I  had  but  three  minutes  to  live,"  he  said,  "  my 
last  words  would  be  —  Holy  Mary,  blessed  art  thou  among 
women  ;  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thy  womb  ;  pray  for  me  now, 
and  in  the  hour  of  death."  He  lived ;  and  I  trust  what  I 
said  may  not  be  forgotten,  though  on  that  occasion  all 
seemed  of  no  avail. 

If  I  address  the  Patriarch  Job,  "  What  are  thy  hope  and 
glory  ?  "  the  broken-hearted  patriarch  replies,  "  I  know  that 
my   Redeemer  liveth."     If  I   ask  the   saints   around   the 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  327 

Throne,  who  is  the  burden  of  their  song,  I  hear  the  anthem 
peal  borne  from  the  celestial  choirs,  and  significant  of  their 
faith  and  joy  — "  Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us 
from  our  sins  in  his  blood,  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever 
and  ever."  If  I  ask  the  Everlasting  Father,  Who  is  Christ  ? 
—  I  hear  the  responding  voice  from  heaven  —  "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son :  hear  ye  him."  If  I  ask  the  Lord  Jesus  him- 
self—  "I  am  the  way."  If  I  ask  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  de- 
scends like  a  dove  to  bear  witness  to  him  and  to  seal  him  as 
Messiah.  If  I  inquire  of  angels,  what  is  the  theme  of  their 
admiration,  they  exclaim  — "  Unto  you  is  born  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord ; "  "  Into  these  things  we  desire 
to  look  ;  "  "  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him."  If 
I  refer  to  the  Prophets,  "  to  him  give  all  the  Prophets  wit- 
ness." If  I  turn  to  the  Baptist,  he  gathers  up  all  that  had 
been  symbolized  and  shadowed  in  the  ancient  economy,  and 
compresses  it  into  one  golden  and  magnificent  ascription, 
"  Behold  the  I^amb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world."  If  I  ask  the  apostles  who  it  is  that  they  preach  — 
'  Whom  we  preach"  —  "  We  are  witnesses."  If  I  ask  the 
whole  Church  of  Christ  the  ground  of  their  hope  —  "  To 
whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  Thee  ?  Thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life."  If  I  ask.  What  mean  the  sacraments  ?  —  they 
are  voices  in  the  wilderness,  "We  are  not  that  Christ!  we 
bear  witness  of-  him  :  He  must  increase,  we  must  decrease." 
If  I  appeal  to  creation  around  me,  every  rock  bears  in- 
scribed upon  its  brow.  The  Rock  of  Ages  —  every  vine 
announces  the  true  and  living  Vine ;  the  sun  in  the  firma- 
ment tells  me  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness ;  the  stars  set 
forth  the  bright  and  morning  Star ;  and  the  rose  that  blooms 
in  the  field  and  garden,  carries  by  its  fragrance  to  my  heart 
the  loveliness  of  Jesus,  the  Rose  of  Sharon.  All  creation, 
all  revelation  —  prophets,  saints,  and  martyrs  —  turn  away 
from  Mary  and  from  angels,  and  concentrate  their  regard, 
and  converge  their  attention,  upon  Jesus,  and  glorify  him 


328  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

crucified,  him  crowned.  Nay,  more :  if  the  Virgin  Mary- 
could  speak  to  her  Roman  Catholic  worshippers  upon  earth, 
I  am  sure  she  would  give  them  different  advice  from  that 
which  they  now  follow.  You  may  recollect,  when  Diogenes 
the  Cynic  was  seated  in  his  tub,  basking  in  the  sunshine  ac- 
cording to  his  practice,  that  Alexander  the  Great,  smitten 
with  admiration  of  the  strange  man,  and  wondering  at  his 
self-sacrifice,  one  day  asked  him  if  there  was  any  favor  in 
Macedon  which  he  could  bestow,  and  which  Diogenes  could 
select.  After  a  pause,  the  old  Cynic  answered,  "  This  is 
my  only  request,  that  your  majesty  would  stand  aside  from 
between  me  and  the  sun."  And  if  the  Virgin  or  the  most 
illustrious  saint  or  angel  were  to  come  from  the  happy  land, 
and  to  ask  me  at  this  moment  what  is  the  greatest  favor  he 
could  confer  upon  me  on  earth  or  secure  for  me  in  heaven, 
I  would  tell  him,  even  if  he  were  one  of  the  bright  cherubim 
radiant  from  God's  presence,  that  it  is,  and  ever  will  be,  to 
stand  aside  from  between  me  and  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
that  his  beams  may  illumine  me,  his  warmth  quicken  me, 
his  blood  cleanse  me,  his  righteousness  clothe  me,  and  his 
life  and  death,  and  love  and  peace,  be  all  in  all  to  my  soul. 

One  beautiful  relationship  to  his  church,  under  which 
Christ  is  set  forth  in  Scripture,  is  that  of  her  Everlasting 
Husband ;  and  just  mark  what  this  implies.  Would  you 
suppose,  that  that  wife  was  living  in  harmony  with  her  hus- 
band, who,  when  anxious  to  obtain  money  for  the  supply  of 
the  family  for  the  week,  should  call  upon  her  next  door 
neighbor,  and  say,  "  Will  you  go  up  to  my  husband,  and  ask 
him  to  give  me  five  pounds  to  provide  for  us  during  the 
next  week?"  Would  not  everyone  suspect  that  such  a 
wife  did  not  live  on  good  terms  with  her  husband,  and  that 
the  husband  could  have  none  of  the  feelings  of  a  husband 
towards  her  whom  he  called  his  wife  ?  When  husband  and 
wife  live  in  concord  and  reciprocal  affection,  the  wife  would 
not  hesitate  herself  to  tell  him  what  is  needed  for  the  wants 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  829 

of  the  common  circle.  Now  Christ  is  our  loving  and  en- 
throned Plusband,  with  ten  thousand  times  a  husband's 
power,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  times  a  hus- 
band's heart,  for  his  is  the  heart  of  hearts ;  and  you  that  are 
the  members  of  his  body,  you  that  constitute  "  the  Lamb's 
wife,"  have  only  to  say,  "  Jesus,  give,"  and  he  has  infinitely 
more  joy  in  giving  than  you  have  in  asking. 

Preach  the  law,  and  you  will  drive  men  to  destruction  ; 
preach,  "  Do  and  live,"  and  despair  will  be  the  close,  as  a 
mercenary  spirit  must  be  the  commencement ;  preach  the 
terrors  of  hell,  and  you  may  scare,  but  you  will  not  reclaim 
men ;  preach  the  commandment  or  the  curse  of  Sinai,  and 
you  will  not  reach  man's  heart,  the  secret  source  of  his  alien- 
ation ;  but  preach  the  love  and  devotedness  of  Christ  —  dis- 
close the  ever  open  and  unfolded  arms  of  the  everlasting 
Father  —  and,  under  the  blessing  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  there 
will  be  found  that  in  the  exhibition  of  a  Father's  love,  in 
the  gift  and  atonement  of  his  dear  Son,  which  will  melt  the 
hard  heart,  and  thaw  the  frozen  soul,  and  enable  the  hearer 
to  know  what  this  means.  "  We  love  God  because  God  first 
loved  us."  I  once  tried  to  convince  a  dying  man  by  the 
Law ;  I  tried  to  convince  him  by  various  other  lessons  ;  I 
failed :  but  when  I  told  him  of  the  prodigal's  return,  and 
reception,  and  recovery,  it  reached  his  heart.  That  poor 
youth,  you  remember,  had  gone  to  a  strange  land,  wasted 
his  substance  in  riotous  living,  and  lay  in  the  very  depth  of 
distress  and  despair ;  but  he  said  to  himself,  "  I  will  arise 
and  go"  —  where  ?  to  his  father's  butler,  or  his  father's 
friend,  to  intercede  for  him  and  introduce  him  ?  or  to  lie 
down  at  his  father's  door,  and  do  some  painful  and  agoniz- 
ing penance  to  conciliate  his  father's  feelings  towards  him  ? 
No ;  he  knew  what  was  in  his  father's  heart,  and  that  his 
appeal  to  it  would  touch  a  string  that  would  vibrate  with 
affection  and  sympathy.  He  said,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to 
my  father."  The  fathei*,  it  is  evident,  was  looking  out  for 
28* 


330  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

his  son ;  and  "  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  he  saw 
him."  He  was  probably  standing  on  the  highest  turret  of 
his  house  ;  and  as  he  saw  in  the  far  distant  horizon  a  speck, 
he  thought  within  himself  as  it  dilated,  "  Can  it  be  my  poor 
stray  boy  ?  "  He  looked  again,  and  it  grew  to  a  ragged  and 
barefooted  youth ;  and  soon  a  father's  fond  eye  detected  the 
well-known  gait  and  features  of  his  long  lost  son.  Now  did 
the  father  say,  "  I  will  allow  him  to  taste  the  fruits  of  his 
own  folly  ;  I  will  keep  him  at  bay,  till  he  has  made  every 
one  about  me  his  friend,  and  then  he  shall  be  introduced  to 
myself.;  I  will  make  him  do  some  penance  before  I  receive 
him  ?  "  No !  he  ran  and  fell  on  his  son's  neck,  and  bade  all 
the  household  rejoice  at  his  return  ;  and  when  the  son  began 
to  appeal  for  an  humble  place  in  the  family,  the  father  over- 
whelmed him  with  caresses,  and  silenced  him  with  the  over- 
flowings ■  of  paternal  kindness,  and  said,  "  Nay,  nay,  bring 
forth  and  kill  for  him  the  fatted  calf,  and  let  us  eat  and  be 
merry."  So  is  it,  my  dear  Roman  Catholic  friends,  my  dear 
Protestant  fellow-Christians,  —  so  is  it  with  God  ;  and  the 
greatest  wrong  that  we  do  that  gracious  God  is  the  hard 
thoughts  we  have  of  him.  You  look  at  him  as  an  Egyptian 
taskmaster  ;  you  think  of  the  great  and  good  God  as  a  Pha- 
raoh. My  dear  friends,  he  hangs  over  you  with  more  than 
parental  tenderness  ;  your  first  movement  to  him  is  met  by 
a  forward  movement  on  his  part  from  heaven  to  earth  ;  and 
there  is  joy  amid  the  angels  over  one  soul  that  repenteth 
and  turneth  to  God. 

Once  more :  Christ  Jesus  is  the  true  ladder  of  Jacob's 
vision  —  one  end  of  it  touching  the  earth,  and  the  other 
reaching  the  uttermost  heaven.  By  it  you  may  climb  from 
grace  to  glory,  looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left, 
but  trusting  only  in  him  who  is  "the  way."  Oh!  what 
deep  dishonor  you  do  to  that  Saviour,  when  you  go  to  other 
ways,  to  other  names,  to  other  introductions  to  heaven ' 
For  what  has  Christ,  the  offended  God,  done  to  bring  you 


THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS.  331 

to  heaven  ?  He  has  made  himself  "  the  way."  He  lies 
down,  that  you,  the  guilty,  may  walk  on  that  way,  and 
reach  the  bosom  of  God.  I  regard  it  as  one  of  the  most 
stupendous  proofs  of  the  love  and  humiliation  of  Christ, 
that  not  satisfied  with  dying  for  us,  he  has  made  himself 
the  way  for  us,  on  which  to  walk  to  heaven  and  to  happi- 
ness. How  unlike  is  this  love  to  man's!  I  remember 
reading  of  two  Highland  chiefs,  bitter  enemies  and  antago- 
nists of  each  other,  who  met  in  a  very  narrow  pathway, 
crossing  a  deep  ravine  between  two  hills,  and  along  which 
only  one  person  could  pass  at  a  time.  It  was  the  rule,  that 
if  two  persons  met  there,  one  should  lie  down  and  the  other 
step  over  him ;  but  the  one  proud  chief  said,  "  Shall  I  allow 
this  coward  to  walk  over  me?"  and  the  other,  "Shall  I 
allow  my  foe  to  tread  upon  me  ? "  They  at  last  entered 
into  desperate  and  mortal  combat,  every  feeling  stirred  and 
every  sinew  stretched  to  its  utmost,  both  knowing  that  one 
or  other  must  perish.  At  length,  one  was  thrown  over  the 
precipice ;  and  the  other  walked  on,  triumphing  in  the  re- 
sult. That  was  man.  But  it  is  not  thus  with  God.  He, 
the  offended,  who  might  have  stood  upon  terms,  is  the  party 
that  has  become  the  Way,  along  which  the  guilty  offender 
may  walk  to  God,  and  thus  find  "  glory,  honor,  and  immor- 
tality." Truly,  "  his  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts,  neither 
are  his  ways  our  ways ;  for  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than 
the  earth,  so  are  his  ways  higher  than  our  ways,  and  his 
thoughts  than  our  thoughts." 


LECTURE    XII 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 


"  This  is  my  body,  wliicli  is  broken  for  you,"  is  assumed 
by  Romanists  as  the  basis  of  transubstantiation.  Protes- 
tants understand,  that  by  these  words,  so  solemnly  uttered 
by  our  blessed  Lord  as  the  dying  precept  which  he  enjoined, 
and  therefore  the  more  imperative  upon  our  observance,  he 
meant  to  convey  —  "  This  bread,  which  is  broken  upon  the 
table,  is  the  seal  and  symbol  of  that  body  which  is  about  to 
be  broken  for  you ;  it  is  the  simple  but  expressive  epitome 
of  all  the  benefits  and  blessings  that  accrue  to  God's 
redeemed  and  living  people,  from  the  incarnation  and  sor- 
rows, the  agony  and  the  expiatory  death,  of  the  Redeemer."" 
And  when  we  approach  the  Communion  table,  whatever  be 
the  form  in  which  we  celebrate  that  holy  rite,  we  feel  that 
it  points  backward  to  the  past,  and  proclaims  the  height  and 
depth,  the  length  and  breadth,  of  that  love  which  Christ 
manifested  to  man ;  and  that  it  points  forward  to  the  future 
also,  and  declares  the  certainty  of  that  glorious  advent 
which  the  Redeemer  himself  predicted,  when  he  said  —  "I 
will  not  leave  you  comfortless ;  I  will  come  again,  and 
receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be 
also." 

One  may  well  ask.  By  what  strange  hallucination  has  it 
come  to  pass,  that  a  large  section  of  the  visible  and  pro- 
fessing church  attaches  to  these  words  so  different,  so  repul- 
sive, a  meaning  as  that  of  transubstantiation  ?  —  alleging 
that  they  ought  to  be  taken,  not  in  that  figurative  and  sym- 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  833 

bolic  sense  in  which  they  have  been  accustomed  to  receive 
tliem,  but  that  it  was  literally  true,  that  when  our  blessed 
Lord  uttered  these  words,  the  bread  and  wine  that  were 
placed  before  him  on  the  table  instantly  were  changed  or 
transubstantiated  into  the  literal  body  and  the  literal  blood, 
together  with  the  soul  and  divinity,  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  this  change  still  takes  place  when  these 
words  are  uttered  by  the  priest.  So  truly  is  this  believed 
by  every  member  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  that  he  holds, 
that  the  moment  the  priest  has  pronounced  the  words  Hoc 
est  enim  meum  corptis  (for  this  is  my  body),  that  moment 
the  flour  and  water,  in  the  shape  of  a  wafer,  which  has 
been  laid  on  the  altar,  become  literally  and  truly  and  sub- 
stantially the  very  flesh  and  blood  and  soul  and  deity  of  the 
Son  of  God.  If  you  should  protest  to  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic —  "  It  looks  like  a  wafer  —  it  tastes  like  a  wafer  —  it 
smells  like  a  wafer  —  it  crumbles  like  a  w^afer  of  flour  and 
water  —  and  if  I  leave  it  long  enough,  it  corrupts  and 
moulders  like  a  wafer"  —  his  answer  is  —  "Your  senses 
are  all  betrayed,  it  is  no  such  thing ;  your  five  senses  tell 
you  it  is  flour  and  water,  but  you  are  told  in  the  Inspired 
Volume  by  our  Lord  himself  that  it  is  his  body ;  and  in 
spite  of  all  your  senses  proclaiming  it  to  be  flour  and  water, 
you  are  bound  to  believe  it  is  literally  and  truly  flesh  and 
blood." 

You  will  easily  conceive  that  this  is  a  demand  upon  our 
belief,  of  a  very  severe  and  extraordinary  description ;  and 
that  it  will  need,  upon  the  part  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
neither  few  nor  frail  arguments  to  prove  that  they  are  riglit 
and  that  we  are  wrong.  You  will  also  perceive  the  vast 
importance  of  t  e  truth  or  falsehood  of  this  doctrine,  from 
the  necessary  sequences  or  consequences  of  it.  In  the 
Church  of  Rome,  they  believe,  that  as  soon  as  the  flour  and 
water  have  been  transubstantiated  into  the  body  and  blood 
of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  the  priest  holds  it  up,  or  "  elevates 


334  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  host,"  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation,  they  may  and 
do  justly  fall  down  and  adore  it,  as  truly  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  If  they  are  right  in  the  previous  supposition,  that 
this  transubstantiation  takes  place,  their  adoration  is  cer- 
tainly proper ;  but  if  they  are  wrong  in  the  assumption  that 
the  flour  and  water  are  turned  into  flesh  and  blood,  then 
their  adoration,  upon  their  own  principles,  must  be  revolting 
idolatry.  But  this  is  not  the  only  consequence  of  their  doc- 
trine :  as  soon  as  it  has  been  thus  changed  and  adored,  the 
priest  in  every  Roman  Catholic  chapel  instantly  offers  up 
this  —  which  he  believes  to  be  the  body  and  blood,  the  soul 
and  divinity,  of  our  blessed  Lord  —  a  sacrifice  propitiatory 
for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  possessing  exactly 
the  efficacy  of  the  atonement  on  Calvary;  a  sacrifice,  in 
short,  adequate  to  cancel  and  remit  the  sins  of  the  living 
and  the  dead,  just  as  if  it  were  the  literal  and  true  sacrifice 
offered  upon  the  cross  every  Sunday.  I  shall  not  be  able, 
in  this  Lecture,  to  enter  upon  a  consideration  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  which  may  be  viewed 
quite  distinctly  from  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation ;  for 
I  may  remark  in  passing,  that  if  I  were  to  grant  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  that  transubstantiation  is  true,  I  should  yet 
be  prepared  to  repudiate  as  false  the  propitiatory  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass ;  being  prepared  to  prove  and  to  demonstrate 
that  there  is  but  one  glorious  and  perfect  expiatory  Sacri- 
fice—  a  sacrifice  of  such  spotless  excellency,  such  glorious 
perfection,  that  nothing  that  is  in  heaven  itself  can  add  to 
it,  and  nothing  that  is  in  hell  can  detract  from  it  or  de- 
stroy it. 

In  order  that  we  may  proceed  fairly  and  logically  to  the 
consideration  of  this  topic,  I  will  first  read  to  you  a  brief 
extract  from  the  Creed  of  Pope  Pius  the  Fourth  —  the 
Creed  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  which  every  member  of 
that  Church  subscribes.  "  I  profess  likewise,  that  in  the 
Mass  there  is  offered  to  God  a  true,  proper,  and  propitiatory 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  335 

sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead ;  that  in  the  most  holy 
sacrament  of  the  Eucharist,  there  is  truly,  really,  and  sub- 
stantially the  body  and  blood,  together  with  the  soul  and 
divinity,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  there  is  a  con- 
version of  the  whole  substance  of  tlie  bread  into  the  body, 
and  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  wine  into  the  blood ; 
which  conversion  the  Catholic  Church  calls  transubstantia- 
tion.  I  also  confess,  that  under  either  kind  alone  Christ  is 
received  whole  and  entire,  and  there  is  a  true  sacrament." 

I  will  also  read  the  following  extracts  from  the  Decrees 
and  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Chapter  IV.  on  the 
Eucharist :  "  Since  Christ  our  Redeemer  truly  said  that  that 
which  he  offered  under  the  appearance  of  bread  was  his 
body,  therefore  the  Church  of  Christ  has  ever  been  per- 
suaded, and  this  holy  Synod  declares  it  anew,  that  by  the 
consecration  of  the  bread  and  wine,  a  conversion  takes 
place  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread  into  the  substance 
of  the  body  of  Christ  our  Lord,  and  of  the  whole  substance 
of  tlie  wine  into  the  substance  of  his  blood ;  which  conver- 
sion the  holy  Catholic  Church  properly  calls  transubstantia- 
tion."  Again :  the  First  Canon  of  the  Council  of  Trent  on 
the  Eucharist  is,  "  If  any  man  shall  deny,  that  in  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  most  holy  Eucharist  there  is  contained,  truly, 
really,  and  substantially,  the  body  and  blood,  together  with 
the  soul  and  divinity,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  a  whole 
Christ  —  but  shall  say  that  he  is  only  in  it  in  sign,  or  figure, 
or  power  —  let  Mm  be  accursed."  Also  Canon  VI. :  "  If 
any  shall  say,  that  in  the  holy  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist, 
Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  is  not  to  be  adored, 
and  that  outwardly  with  the  worship  of  latria  [the  chiefest 
worship],  and  therefore  that  he  ought  neither  to  be  vener- 
ated by  any  especial  celebration,  nor  carried  solemnly  about 
in  procession,  according  to  the  laudable  and  universal  cus- 
tom of  the  Church,  or  that  he  ought  not  to  be  exhibited  to 
the  people,  and  that  the  worshippers  of  him  are  idolaters, 


336  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

let  him  be  accursed."  This  is  Transubstantiation,  as  it  is 
defined  and  embodied  in  the  authoritative  documents  of  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

To  show  you  how  very  near  the  Tractarians  of  Oxford 
approach  to  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  how 
true  and  just  is  the  statement  I  have  made,  that  the  Oxfoi'd 
Tracts,  especially  the  last,  ought  to  be  appended  to  those 
Canons  as  commentaries  upon  them,  I  will  read  one  or  two 
extracts  from  some  of  the  most  notorious  works  of  the  Trac- 
tarian  school.  In  Tract  LXXXVI.  it  is  stated,  that  "  tliere 
is  the  real  and  essential  presence  of  Christ's  natural  body 
and  blood  in  the  Eucharist."  I  will  read  also  from  Mr. 
Palmer's  Letter  to  The  Oxford  Herald:  "With  regard  to 
the  blessed  sacraments,  I  protest  against  nothing ;  it  seems 
to  me  a  question  of  no  moment,  whether  the  natural  sub- 
stance of  bread  and  wine  remains,  or  not ;  I  do  not,  I  say, 
protest  at  all,  nor  am  I  a  Protestant  on  the  point  of  transub- 
stantiation." Then  comes  Mr.  Newman  in  Tract  XC. : 
"  Let  them  but  believe  and  act  on  the  truth,  that  the  conse- 
crated bread  is  Christ's  body,  as  he  says,  and  no  officious 
comment  on  his  words  will  be  attempted  by  any  well-judging 
mind.  But  when  they  say,  '  This  cannot  be  literally  true, 
because  it  is  impossible,'  then  they  force  those  who  think  it 
is  literally  true,  to  explain  how,  according  to  their  notions,  it 
is  not  impossible.  And  those  who  ask  hard  questions,  must 
put  up  with  hard  ans"wers."  And  then  he  goes  on  to  say, 
that  there  is  a  literal  and  true  presence  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  in  the,  Eucharist. 

Such,  then,  is  the  doctrine  we  are  now  to  consider. 

The  great  argument  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is, 
that  you  are  to  take  the  words  —  "  This  is  my  body,"  liter- 
ally and  strictly ;  and  that  thus  taking  them,  you  must  con- 
clude that  transubstantiation  is  scriptural  and  true.  Now  if 
they  insist  upon  our  taking  these  words  literally,  let  us  first  of 
all  inquire  whether  they  themselves  take  the  words  literally. 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  837 

You  cannot  fail  to  observe,  that  if  the  words  are  to  be  inter- 
preted literally,  they  merely  imply  —  This  bread  is  Christ's 
body.  But  you  will  recollect,  that  in  the  first  Canon  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  on  the  Eucharist,  they  say  that  there  is  a 
transubstantiation,  by  virtue  of  which  there  is  present,  not 
only  the  body,  but  "  the  soul  and  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  If  we  take  the  words  literally,  we  must  conclude- 
that  there  is  present  only  the  body  of  Christ,  and  not  the 
soul  and  divinity ;  for  these  are  not  included  in  the  words. 
They  themselves,  therefore,  whilst  they  contend  for  a  litera? 
interpretation,  set  the  example  of  departing  from  the  literal' 
import,  and  practically  attach  to  the  words  a  figurative- 
meaning. 

But,  if  they  insist  upon  taking  these  words  literally  in* 
reference  to  the  bread,  we  call  upon  them  to  carry  through 
their  principle,  and  to  take  also  the  words  literally  that  refer 
to  the  wine.  Our  Lord  says,  "  This  cup  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  my  blood."  Now  if  "  This  is  my  body  "  means  that 
the  bread  is  transubstantiated  into  flesh,  then,  copsecutivelyi. 
and  by  parity  of  reasoning,  "  This  cup  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment "  must  import  that  the  cup  is  literally  transubstantiated 
into  a  New  Testament.  But  they  take  the  first  half  literally, 
because  it  suits  their  own  purposes ;  and  they  take  the  sec^ 
ond  half  figuratively,  just  for  the  very  same  reason.  This- 
is  strange  interpretation. 

But,  if  we  are  to  attach  a  literal  interpretation  to  this- 
passage,  and  to  this  pebuliar  form  of  phraseology,  I  contend 
that  we  are  bound,  by  all  the  principles  of  fair  and  consist- 
ent interpretation,  to  attach  a  literal  meaning  to  about  thirty- 
seven  passages  of  a  homogeneous  character,  which  occur  iir 
various  portions  of  the  Sacred  Volume.  "  I  am  the  door :  ** 
must  we  not  take  that  literally  ?  "  I  aw  the  vine : "  mus^ 
we  not  take  that  literally  ?  "  The  seven  ears  of  corn  are' 
seven  years : "  "  the  seven  candlesticks  are  seven  churches :  '*" 
«the  field  is  the  world:"  "that  Tock^jfi«tc:£ih3asLC  "^^^^ 
29  ^--^^r^. '}-:--<*-  ; 

'nHIVBRSITYi 


338  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

seven  heads  are  seven  mountains : "  "  their  thioat  is  an  open 
sepulchre : "  "  thou  art  that  head  of  gold : "  and  so  on.  If 
we  are  bound  to  take  the  words  — "  This  is  my  body "  in 
their  literal  sense,  then  we  must  take  similar  phraseology  in 
other  passages  in  the  literal  sense ;  we  must  believe,  that  our 
Lord  was  changed  into  a  vine  —  that  he  was  transformed 
into  a  door  —  that  seven  candlesticks  became  literally  tran- 
substantiated into  seven  churches  —  that  the  throat  of  the 
wicked  becomes  literally  a  sepulchre  —  that  seven  ears  of 
corn  were  literally  transmuted  into  seven  years  —  and  thus 
the  whole  word  of  God  is  irrational  and  absurd.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  take  the  Protestant  principle  of  interpreta- 
tion —  that  of  attaching  a  figurative  interpretation  where  a 
figurative  is  obviously  required  —  then  beauty,  consistency, 
and  harmony  pervade  the  Sacred  Volume.  I  can  then  un- 
derstand how  the  rock  is  the  symbol  of  the  Rock  of  Ages ; 
that  the  vine  is  the  symbol  of  Christ  —  the  parent  root  and 
stem  and  source  of  all  the  vitality  that  is  found  in  his  people, 
its  branches ;  that  the  throat  of  the  wicked  is  likened  to  a 
sepulchre,  because  of  the  words  of  malice  and  the  thoughts 
of  evil  of  which  it  is  the  channel :  that  the  seven  ears  rep- 
resent seven  years,  and  the  seven  candlesticks  are  the  meet 
and  expressive  symbols  of  seven  churches ;  and  in  accord- 
ance with  this,  that  the  bread  is  not  literally  transubstan- 
tiated into  flesh,  but  is  the  expressive  and  apposite  symbol 
of  the  incarnation  of  God,  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justi- 
fied in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles, 
believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory." 

"We  have  a  powerful  argument  for  this  mode  of  interpre- 
tation, in  the  language  applied  to  the  ancient  sacrament, 
under  the  Levitical  economy.  One  is  extremely  appropri- 
ate. When  the  lamb  was  slain  and  placed  upon  the  table, 
and  the  families  of  Israel  gathered  round  to  eat  of  it,  the 
officiating  priest  (for  the  patriarch  of  the  home  is  the  priest 
of  the  church  assembhng  in  that  home),  pointing  to  the 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  839 

lamb,  said  —  "  This  is  the  Lord's  passover."  Now,  if  you 
take  these  words  in  their  literal  meaning,  as  the  Romanists 
take  the  words  "  This  is  ray  body,"  you  must  understand  by 
them  that  the  patriarch  meant  to  convey  —  This  lamb,  on 
which  you  are  feeding  as  still  animal  flesh,  is  now  transub- 
stantiated into  an  angel  spreading  his  wings  upon  the  air, 
and  sweeping  through  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  the  land 
of  Egypt;  leaving  mourning  in  the  habitations  of  Rahab, 
and  songs  of  joy  in  the  homes  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
But  here  would  evidently  be  a  stretch  of  interpretation  so 
extravagant  and  absurd,  that  even  a  Roman  Catholic  cannot 
receive  it.  And  in  like  manner,  when  circumcision  is  re- 
ferred to,  under  the  Old  Testament  economy,  it  is  said  of  it 
—  "  This  is  the  Lord's  covenant."  We  understand  by  these 
expressions,  that  circumcision  was  a  symbol  or  a  seal  of  the 
covenant  of  God,  in  the  one  rite  ;  and  that  the  lamb  was  the 
sign  or  memorial  of  that  memorable  night,  in  which  God 
spared  the  first-born  of  Israel,  through  the  sprinkling  of 
blood,  while  he  smote  with  a  high  hand  and  an  outstretched 
arm  the  first-born  of  guilty  and  disobedient  Egypt. 

Not  only  are  w^e  borne  out  in  this  principle  of  interpreta- 
tion by  the  obvious  usage  of  Scripture,  but  it  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  usages  of  man,  in  every  language,  and  under 
all  circumstances.  If  I  walk  into  the  British  Museum,  and 
take  you  through  the  gallery  that  contains  those  busts  and 
statues  that  came  from  the  chisels  of  ancient  and  distin- 
guished statuaries,  and  if,  as  you  enter,  I  point  to  the  left 
hand,  and  say,  "  That  is  Homer,"  do  you  understand,  when 
you  look  upon  that  exquisite  specimen  of  sculpture,  that  it 
is  Homer  alive  and  risen  from  the  dead,  and  that  you  may 
now  listen  to  the  strains  of  the  hoary  bard  again?  You 
attach  no  such  meaning  to  the  phrase.  Or,  if  I  take  you 
into  the  school-room,  and  pointing  to  a  map  on  the  wall,  say, 
"This  is  England,"  "That  is  Scotland,"  "That  is  Europe," 
you  never  suppose  that  the  canvas  and  the  paint  are  tran- 


340  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

substantiated  into  England,  Scotland,  or  Europe.  You  at 
once  understand,  that  I  use  a  figure  of  speech,  familiar  in 
every  language  in  every  part  of  the  world ;  and  that  all  I 
mean  is,  that  the  sculptured  marble  is  the  representation  of 
the  ancient  poet,  and  that  the  map  projected  on  the  paper 
or  the  canvas,  is  the  representative  epitome  of  the  districts, 
the  counties,  and  the  parishes  of  Europe,  of  England,  and 
of  Scotland. 

The  Roman  Catholic,  however,  will  appeal  to  other  parts 
of  Scripture,  which  he  contends  will  prove  this  doctrine. 
There  is  one  chapter  which  eveiy  Roman  Catholic  has  com- 
mitted to  memory,  if  no  other  portion  of  the  Bible,  namely, 
the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John.  He 
contends,  that  we  have  in  that  chapter  such  a  clear  and 
incontrovertible  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantia- 
tion,  that  no  one  can  resist  it ;  and  hence,  in  almost  every 
Roman  Catholic  controversial  document,  you  will  find  the 
last  half  of  that  chapter  quoted ;  and  it  is  taken  for  granted 
in  every  instance,  that  it  refers  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  to 
that  alone.  But  this  is  not  its  reference.  You  will  recol- 
lect the  circumstances  originatino-  the  conversation  in  that 
chapter.  Our  Lord  had  fed  the  five  thousand  miraculously 
with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes ;  and  the  Capernaites,  unbap- 
tized  and  unconverted,  charmed  with  the  greatness  of  the 
miracle,  and  attracted  by  the  prospect  of  leading  lives  of 
indolence  and  being  fed  without  trouble,  followed  him 
wherever  he  went.  Our  Lord  told  them,  that  they  sought 
him  not  because  of  the  works  he  had  done,  but  because  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes ;  and  then  he  preached  to  them  in  the 
following  words :  "  I  am  the  bread  of  Life  ; "  "  This  is  the 
bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  that  a  man  may  eat 
thereof  and  not  die ; "  "  Except  ye  eat  of  the  flesh  of  the 
Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you." 
The  Roman  Catholic  contends,  that  all  these  passages  refer 
so  directly  and  so  explicitly  to  the  doctrine  of  transubstan- 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION".  341 

tiation,  that  no  Protestant  can  resist  tlieir  force.  Let  us 
look  at  them.  In  the  first  place,  is  it  probable,  or  at  all  in 
accordance  with  the  wonted  teaching  of  our  Lord,  that  he 
should  begin  first  of  all  to  proclaim  to  the  untutored  and 
heathen  Capernaites,  not  salvation  freely  through  his  blood, 
but  the  mystery  of  the  Eucharist?  In  the  second  place, 
is  it  probable  that  our  blessed  Lord  explained  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Supper  to  the  people,  to  whom  neither  he  nor 
any  other  had  ever  preached  the  very  elements  of  Chris- 
tianity ?  And,  in  the  last  place,  you  will  find,  that  through- 
out the  whole  chapter,  there  is  no  mention  whatever  either 
of  the  cup  or  of  the  bread,  or  of  the  words  of  consecration, 
or  of  any  thing  that  could  lead  you  to  suppose  that  there  is 
the  least  allusion  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  truth  is,  as  you 
will  find  by  an  analysis  of  the  chapter,  that  our  blessed 
Lord  sets  forth  faith  under  the  similitude  of  hungering  and 
thirsting,  and  of  eating  and  drinking ;  and  you  are  aware 
that  it  is  a  very  common  usage  on  the  part  of  our  Saviour, 
to  represent  himself  under  a  variety  of  figures,  and  faith  as 
taking  its  tone  from  each  of  those  figures.  Thus,  if  Christ 
is  represented  as  the  everlasting  rock,  faith  reposes  upon 
that  rock,  and  feels  secure  amid  the  convulsions  of  an  agi- 
tated world ;  if  Christ  is  set  forth  as  a  fountain  of  living 
waters,  faith  comes  and  drinks  of  the  refreshing  streams 
"  without  money  and  without  price ; "  if  Christ  is  repre- 
sented as  bread,  faith  eats  of  it,  and  is  recruited  and 
strengthened ;  if  Christ  is  represented  as  "  the  way,"  faitli 
walks  in  the  way;  if  as  "the  truth,"  faith  receives  the 
truth ;  if  as  "  the  life,"  faith  lays  hold  upon  that  life ;  if  as 
an  anchor,  faith  grasps  the  anchor ;  if  as  an  ark,  faith  leaves 
the  shattered  and  the  sinking  wreck  of  nature,  and  goes  into 
that  ark,  which  will  waft  its  happy  and  its  holy  ones  across 
the  turmoils  and  the  troubles  of  the  world,  and  land  them 
in  that  better  place,  where  faith  is  lost  in  fruition,  and  hope 
merged  in  enjoyment.  Now  this  is  precisely  the  process 
29* 


342  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

adopted  by  our  blessed  Lord  throughout  this  chapter ;  and 
you  will  see,  by  referring  to  some  of  the  passages,  that  he 
regards  believing  and  hungering  as  perfectly  identical. 
Observe :  "  Then  said  they  unto  him,  Lord,  evermore  give 
ais  this  bread.  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  I  am  the  bread 
of  life ;  he  that  cometh  to  me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he 
that  helieveth  on  me  shall  never  thirst : "  showing  that 
coming  to  Christ  and  believing  on  him  are  equivalent  to 
eating  that  bread.  And  again :  "  This  is  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me,  that  every  one  which  seeth  the  Son,  and  be- 
lieveth  on  him,  may  have  everlasting  life ; "  and  in  a  paral- 
lel passage,  "Whoso  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drinketh  my 
%lood,  hath  eternal  life : "  showing  that  to  eat  of  that  living 
bread,  and  to  come  to  him  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  are 
exactly  the  same  thing,  and  are  both  followed  by  the  bless- 
ing of  everlasting  life. 

Were  we  to  suppose  that  this  chapter  refers  to  the 
Eucharist,  and  to  grant  (for  the  sake  of  argument)  that 
transubstantiation  is  here  clearly  indicated,  it  would  prove 
what  no  Roman  Catholic  can  conscientiously  admit.  For 
instance,  in  one  verse  it  is  said,  "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of 
the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in 
you."  If  the  Eucharist,  or  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  here 
intended,  it  follows,  that  every  one  who  does  not  partake  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  has  not  eternal  life.  But  the  thief  upon 
the  cross  passed  from  his  shame  to  his  glory,  and  never 
tusted  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  infant  that  dies  like  un- 
timely fruit  in  its  mother's  bosom  passes  to  the  bosom  of  the 
■everlasting  Father,  and  the  possession  of  an  eternal  home ; 
and  yet  that  infant  has  never  received  the  Lord's  Supper 
But  if  this  refers  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  proves,  that 
lankss  you  partake  of  that  sacrament,  it  is  impossible  that 
you  can  have  life  in  you.  And  then  the  converse  of  this  is 
5ilso  made  out ;  for  it  is  said,  "  He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and 
drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life."     If  this  refers  to  the 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  343 

Lord's  Supper,  every  man  that  partakes  of  that  sacrament 
has  eternal  life.  But  I  venture  to  assert,  that  no  Roman 
Catholic  will  agree  to  this.  Luther  frequently  partook  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  Church  of  Rome;  but  Roman 
Catholics  do  not  believe  that  this  "  arch-heresiarch "  has 
eternal  life.  Judas,  there  is  reason  to  suppose,  partook  of 
the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  yet  Judas  did  not  obtain  everlasting 
life.  And  there  have  been  thousands  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  communion  who  have  repeatedly  partaken 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  yet  there  has  not  been  one 
shadow  of  a  shade  of  evidence  satisfactory  to  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest,  or  bishop,  or  council,  that  they  were  even 
probable  inheritors  of  everlasting  life,  or  did  not  die  in  mor- 
tal sin. 

But  the  close  of  that  chapter  is,  in  fact,  the  clearest  expo- 
sition of  it.  When  the  Capernaites  wondered  "how  this 
man  could  give  them  his  flesh  to  eat,"  what  did  our  Lord 
say  ?  He  added,  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the 
flesh  profiteth  nothing :  the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you, 
they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  life."  Now,  with  the  Roman 
Catholic,  "the  flesh  profiteth"  so  much,  that  unless  you 
"  eat  the  flesh  "  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  you  have  not  eternal 
life ;  but  in  the  estimate  of  our  Lord  the  flesh  profiteth  so 
little,  that  you  are  not  to  consider  it  at  all.  "  The  words 
that  I  speak  unto  you  "  are  full  of  spiritual  meaning,  illus- 
trative of  spiritual  truths,  to  be  apprehended  by  sj^iritual 
minds,  and  to  be  made  the  germs  of  grace  and  glory  in 
renovated  and  spiritual  hearts. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  Roman  Catholic  alleges,  that 
the  flour  and  water  on  the  Communion  Table  (or,  as  he  calls 
it,  the  altar),  are  really  and  truly  changed ;  and  we  are  to 
believe  it,  though  all  our  senses  protest  against  it.  If  so,  I 
must  add,  that  of  all  the  weapons  ever  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  infidel,  the  Church  of  Rome  has  in  this  instance  fur- 
nished the  most  effective  and  the  most  plausible.    Nor  is  it 


344  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

at  all  to  me  matter  of  surprise,  that  France,  Popish  the  one 
year,  is  infidel  the  next ;  for  I  believe,  that  the  most  sure 
precursor  of  universal  scepticism  would  be  the  extensive 
and  universal  spread  of  Roman  Catholic  superstition ;  and 
that  in  those  countries  where  the  Church  of  Rome  has  at- 
tained her  most  rapid  victories,  and  put  forth  her  most 
gigantic  powers,  the  reaction  which  has  followed  has  proved 
how  true  it  is,  that  from  the  one  extreme  of  superstition 
and  credulity  to  the  other  extreme  of  infidelity  and  scepti- 
cism, is  but  a  short  way.  And  to  show  that  if  we  repudiate 
the  testimony  of  the  senses,  we  put  weapons  in  the  hand  of 
the  infidel,  I  would  refer  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ  from 
the  dead.  How  do  we  prove  this  ?  The  answer  of  Scrip- 
ture is,  that  "  he  was  seen  of  the  Twelve,"  and  afterwards  of 
"  above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once ; "  Thomas  handled 
him,  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles  held  converse  with  him. 
But  the  Church  of  Rome  contends,  that  man's  senses  are 
deceived  every  Sunday,  when  he  looks  at  the  sacrament 
upon  the  altar ;  and  the  infidel  will  consistently  reply,  "  If 
man's  senses  are  deceived  every  Sunday  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  may  they  not  have  been  deceived  in  the  first  ?  may 
not  the  apostles'  senses  have  been  all  deceived,  when  they 
said  they  saw  Christ  risen  ?  may  not  the  senses  of  the  five 
hundred  have  been  deceived,  when  they  said  they  saw  Christ 
all  at  one  and  the  same  moment?  and  may  it  not  therefore 
be  true,  according  to  your  own  principles,  that  Christ  is  not 
risen ;  that  ^  you  are  yet  in  your  sins  ;  your  preaching  vain, 
and  the  people's  faith  also  vain  ? ' "  In  like  manner,  again, 
we  prove  the  miracles  of  our  blessed  Lord  by  the  testimony 
of  the  senses.  What  is  a  miracle  ?  An  appeal  to  man's 
senses ;  a  suspension  of  the  laws  of  nature,  visible  to  man's 
senses.  But  if  the  senses  may  be  deceived,  miracles  may 
never  have  been  wrought ;  a  fascination  only  of  the  senses 
may  have  been  produced ;  and  what  we  regard  as  the  seals 
and  the  everlasting  credentials  of  the  truth  and  inspiration 


TRAN  SUBSTANTIATION.  345 

of  the  Gospel,  may,  on  Roman  Catholic  principles,  have 
been  only  a  delusio  visus  —  a  deception  of  the  sight.  And 
thus  it  is,  that  the  transition  from  superstition  to  infidelity  is 
very  easy,  and  every  way  very  rapid.  I  know  that  Roman 
Catholic  disputants  quote  several  references  from  Scripture, 
to  prove  that  the  senses  may  be  deceived.  They  quote  the 
instance  of  the  disciples  journeying  to  Emmaus,  when  our 
blessed  Lord  drew  near  to  them  and  walked  with  them,  and 
yet  they  did  not  know  it  was  Christ.  But  there  was  a 
reason  for  it ;  for  it  is  added,  "  Their  eyes  were  Jiolden,  that 
they  should  not  know  him."  The  Roman  Catholic  disputant 
quotes  another  instance  —  that  of  Mary  in  the  garden,  when 
Christ  appeared  after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead ;  she 
"  supposed  him  to  have  been  the  gardener."  But  there  it  is 
obvious,  that  though  her  eyes  were  unable  to  recognize  her 
Master,  yet  when  our  blessed  Lord  uttered  the  word 
"  Mary,"  her  ear  faithfully  corrected  the  short-coming  of 
her  eye,  and  instantly  she  recognized  her  Lord  and  Saviour 
Christ.  Again,  the  Roman  Catholic  quotes  the  passage, 
where  it  is  stated  that  Christ  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the 
disciples,  "  the  doors  being  shut ; "  and  he  quietly  infers,  that 
our  Lord's  body  must  have  passed  through  the  closed  doors, 
and  consequently  cannot  be  regarded  as  subject  to  the  same 
natural  laws  to  which  our  bodies  are  liable.  But  there  is 
not  one  particle  of  evidence  for  this ;  on  the  contrary,  I  con- 
ceive that  the  expression,  "  the  doors  being  shut,"  is  an  ex- 
pressive phrase,  used  in  ancient  times,  to  denote  evening, 
just  as  we  say,  "  the  candles  were  lighted,"  or  "  the  shutters 
were  closed,"  when  we  mean  that  it  was  night,  and  the  day- 
light was  gone.  All  that  seems  to  be  implied  in  this  passage 
is,  that  evening  was  come,  and  the  sun  had  set,  when  our 
blessed  Lord  on  that  occasion  made  his  appearance  in  the 
midst  of  his  disciples. 

In  order  to  show  the  utter  falsity  of  the  doctr'ne  of  tran- 
substantiation,  I  will  now  prove  from  Scripture  —  first  of  all, 


346  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

that  the  body  of  our  blessed  Lord  is  contained  in  heaven 
until  the  appointed  period  of  his  second  advent ;  and  being 
contained  in  heaven  literally,  as  far  as  his  humanity  is  con- 
cerned, cannot  be  bodily  on  earth  at  the  same  time.  Acts 
iii.  21 :  "  Whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the  time  of 
restitution  of  all  things."  2  Corinthians  v.  16:  "  Hence- 
forth know  we  no  man  after  the  flesh ;  yea,  though  we  have 
hnown  Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth  know  we  him 
no  more^^  —  that  is,  literally,  corporeally,  and  physically. 
Colossians  iii.  1 :  "If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek 
those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at  the 
right  hand  of  God."  Further :  there  are  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, which  show  that  our  blessed  Lord,  having  a  true  body 
cannot  (as  far  as  is  revealed)  be  in  several  places  in  that 
body  at  the  same  time.  That  his  was  a  true  body,  we  prove 
from  Hebrews  ii.  17,  "In  all  things  it  behoved  him  to  be 
made  like  unto  his  brethren."  It  is  the  characteristic  of 
every  human  body,  that  it  can  only  be  in  one  place  at  a 
time ;  and  as  our  Lord  had  true  and  proper  humanity,  and 
all  that  is  characteristic  of  humanity,  sin  excepted,  he  could 
only  be  bodily  in  one  place  at  a  time.  Matthew  xxviii.  5, 
6  :  "  Ye  seek  Jesus  which  was  crucified  ;  he  is  not  here,  for 
he  is  risen  : "  implying  that  he  could  not  be  bodily  there  in 
the  grave,  and  risen  from  the  dead,  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  The  way  in  which  the  Roman  Catholic  explains  that 
statement  of  the  angel  is,  that  it  was  meant  simply  to  convey 
—  "  Christ  is  not  visible  here."  But  would  not  this  be  utter- 
ing a  direct  untruth  ?  If  you  and  I  were  together  in  a  room, 
and  if  I  hid  myself  in  a  corner  of  it,  would  it  be  truth,  if 
you  were  to  say  to  a  third  person,  inquiring  for  me,  "  He  is 
not  here,  he  is  gone  out  ?  "  Unless,  therefore,  we  can  sup- 
pose an  angel,  sent  upon  the  message  of  his  God,  to  have  told 
a  direct  and  deliberate  untruth,  (which  we  cannot,)  we  must 
infer,  that  our  Lord's  body  could  not  be  at  the  same  moment 
in  the  grave,  and  enshrined  amid  the  glories  of  the  Father's 
rijrht  hand. 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  347 

Again :  when  our  Lord  had  risen  from  the  dead,  we  find 
him  appealing  to  the  senses,  and  saying,  (Luke  xxiv.  39, 40,) 
"  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it  is  I  myself;  handle 
me,  and  see,  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones,  as  ye  see 
me  have.  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  showed  them 
his  hands  and  his  feet."  What  does  this  teach  us  ?  That 
the  senses  are  to  judge  of  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ ; 
that  handling  him,  beholding  his  feet  and  his  hands,  was  the 
evidence  of  his  bodily  and  corporeal  presence ;  and  that 
where  there  is  no  such  evidence  afforded,  (and  there  is  none 
in  the  Mass,)  there  we  must  infer,  that  he  is  not  bodily  and 
corporeally  present.  On  this.  Scripture  is  peculiarly  full. 
John  XX.  27 :  "  Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy 
finger,  and  behold  my  hand ;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and 
thrust  it  into  my  side  :  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing : " 
implying  that  his  bodily  presence  wiis  to  be  appreciated  by 
the  senses,  and  that  where  the  senses  could  not  detect  him, 
there  his  bodily  presence  was  not. 

In  the  next  place,  I  will  show,  that  there  is  direct  scrip- 
tural proof,  that  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine  are  not, 
after  consecration,  transubstantiated  into  the  body  and  blood 
of  our  blessed  Lord.  After  he  had  pronounced  the  words 
of  consecration,  on  which  transubstantiation  takes  place,  or 
"  given  thanks,"  you  will  find  that  our  Lord  adds,  (Matthew 
xxvi.  29,)  "  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the 
vine,  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my 
Father's  kingdom : "  our  Lord  shows  by  these  words,  that 
after  what  the  Roman  Catholic  believes  to  be  the  words  of 
transubstantiation,  the  wine  remains  substantially  what  it 
was  before.  Again :  1  Corinthians  x.  1 6 :  "  The  bread  which 
we  break,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  " 
This  is  uttered  after  the  consecration  of  the  elements,  when, 
therefore,  there  is  no  literal  bread  left.  The  Roman  Cath- 
olic believes,  however,  that  while  the  wafer  may  be  broken, 
Christ's  true  body  cannot  be  broken ;  and  yet  the  apostle 


148  '^^lE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

distinctly  declares,  that  he  breaks  that  which  has  been  con- 
secrated, and  that  the  breaking  of  it  is  the  communion  of 
the  body  of  Christ.  Let  me  next  refer  to  the  passage  from 
which  my  text  is  taken  —  "  For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
that  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you ;  that  the  Lord  Jesus, 
the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  took  bread :  and 
when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said,  Take,  eat ; 
this  is  my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you :  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me.  After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the 
cup,  when  he  had  supped,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  New  Tes- 
tament in  my  blood :  this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  re- 
membrance of  me.  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and 
drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come." 
Here,  you  observe,  the  apostle  distinctly  calls  it  "  this  bread  " 
after  it  has  been  consecrated,  and  speaks  in  the  same  way  of 
"  this  cup." 

Li  the  next  place,  I  maintain,  that  the  very  nature  of  the 
ordinance  itself  shows  that  there  is  no  transubstantiation.  It 
it  is  said,  "  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  meJ^  Now,  memory 
refers  to  a  thing  that  is  absent,  not  to  a  thing  that  is  present ; 
and,  therefore,  the  end  of  this  command  proves,  that  Christ 
is  not  bodily  present,  but  is,  as  Scripture  asserts,  at  his 
Father's  right  hand  in  heaven.  Again :  "  Ye  do  show 
the  Lord's  death  till  he  come : "  this  implies,  that  he  is  not 
yet  personally  come  —  that  his  advent  is  future — and  that 
he  is  yet  absent  in  bodily  presence,  and  not,  as  the  Roman 
Catholic  says,  bodily  and  literally  present  on  the  altar. 

Perhaps  this  also  is  the  appropriate  place  for  introducing 
a  very  beautiful  extract  from  one  of  the  ancient  fathers, 
which  shows  that  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  had  no 
place  in  their  views  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist.  I 
do  not  say  that  the  fathers  are  to  be  regarded  as  authorities 
in  the  exposition  of  Scripture,  but  as  witnesses  to  fact  their 
testimony  is  of  considerable  value  ;  and  at  all  events,  as  the 
Boman  Catholic  is  bound  to  interpret  Scripture  "  only  ac- 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  349 

Curding  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  fathers/'  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  for  him  to  learn,  that  some  of  them  hold 
the  Protestant  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Hear,  then, 
Augustine,  the  most  evangelical  of  all  the  fathers :  "  If  a 
passage  is  preceptive,  and  either  forbids  a  crime,  or  wicked- 
ness, it  is  not  figurative  ;  but,  if  it  seem  to  command  a  crime, 
or  to  forbid  usefulness  or  kindness,  it  is  figurative.  *  Unless 
ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  bloody 
ye  have  no  life  in  you :  *  he  appears  to  enjoin  wickedness 
and  a  crime ;  it  is  a  figure^  therefore,  teaching  us  that  we 
partake  of  the  benefit  of  the  Lord's  passion,  and  that  we- 
must  sweetly  and  profitably  treasure  up  in  our  memories^ 
that  his  flesh  was  crucified  and  wounded  for  us."  (Bene- 
dictine edition,  Paris,  1G85,  vol.  iii.  p.  52.)  And,  again* 
the  same  author  says  —  "  How  shall  I  put  forth  my  hand 
to  heaven,  and  lay  hold  of  him  who  sitteth  there?  Put 
forth  your  faith,  and  you  will  have  laid  hold  on  Christ." 
Again,  from  the  same  author  :  "  '  Jesus  answered  and  said. 
This  is  the  w^ork  of  God,  that  ye  believe  in  him  whom  he 
hath  sent ; '  to  do  this,  is  to  eat  the  meat  which  perishes  not, 
but  endures  to  eternal  life.  Why  do  you  prepare  your  teeth 
and  your  stomach  ?  Believe  only,  and  you  will  have  eaten.'*" 
"  This,  therefore,  is  to  eat  that  food,  and  to  drink  that  cup — 
namely,  to  abide  in  Christ,  and  to  have  Christ  abiding  inr 
you  ;  and  for  this  reason,  he  who  does  not  abide  in  Christ,, 
and  in  whom  Christ  does  not  abide,  beyond  all  doubt,  does^ 
not  spiritually  eat  his  flesh,  or  drink  his  blood,  although  he- 
carnally  presses  with  his  teeth  the  sacrament  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ."  Such  are  the  words  of  Augustine,  a 
father  much  relied  on  by  Roman  Catholic  divines,  and  fre- 
quently quoted  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation. 

Take   another   ancient   father  —  Isidore,   a  bishop  who 

lived  in  the  seventh  century;  and  we  shall  see  that  ou? 

interpretation  of  the  words  in  question   as  figurative  was 

held  in  that  day  also :  —  Wherefore  Scripture  calls  it  th© 

30 


350  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

spirit  of  Samuel,  because  images  are  wont  to  be  called  by 
the  names  of  those  things  of  whom  they  are  images ;  thus 
all  things  painted  or  sculptured  are  called  by  the  names  of 
those  things  of  which  they  are  resemblances,  and  the  proper 
name  is  unhesitatingly  given.  It  is  said,  '  That  is  Cicero,' 
*  that  is  Sallust,'  ^  that  is  Achilles,'  *  that  is  Hector,'  '  that  is 
the  river  Simois ; '  although  they  are  nothing  else  than  the 
painted  images.  The  representations  of  the  sacred  cher- 
ubim, though  celestial  powers,  being  made  of  metal,  were 
also  called  ^  cherubim.'  So  when  one  has  a  dream,  he  does 
not  say,  ^  I  saw  the  picture  of  Augustine,'  but  *  I  saw  Au- 
gustine,' though  at  the  moment  of  this  sight  Augustine  was 
ignorant  of  any  thing  of  the  kind ;  so  obvious  is  it,  that  the 
images  of  the  men,  and  not  the  men  themselves,  are  seen. 
Thus  Pharoah  said  he  saw  ears  of  corn  and  kine  in  his 
dream,  not  a  representation  of  ears  and  of  kine."  The 
explanation,  you  observe,  furnished  in  the  seventh  century 
exactly  agrees  with  the  interpretation  adopted  by  Protes- 
tants. 

But  let  me  now  show  you  the  awful  results  to  which  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation  must  necessarily  lead.  Every 
Roman  Catholic  fully  and  conscientiously  believes,  that  if 
the  piece  of  flour  and  water  which  the  priest  has  consecrated 
on  the  altar  were  broken  into  ten  thousand  particles,  and 
those  particles  scattered  to  the  remotest  confines  of  the 
habitable  globe,  the  whole  body  and  blood  of  our  blessed 
Lord  would  be  in  each  of  the  ten  thousand  particles,  and  in 
each  a  whole  body  complete  and  entire.  He  believes,  that 
every  Sunday  morning,  in  the  six  hundred  Roman  Catholic 
chapels  in  Britain,  and  in  the  thousands  of  chapels  on  the 
continent,  if  each  priest  pronounce  the  words,  "  This  is  my 
body,"  at  or  nearly  at  the  same  moment  of  time,  on  each 
and  every  altar,  though  thousands  of  miles  apart  from  each 
other,  there  will  be,  not  a  fragment  of  the  body,  but  the 
vrhole  of  the  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord  and  Sariour  Jesus 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  351 

Christ;  so  that  he  holds  it  possible  for  our  Lord's  literal 
body  to  be  in  ten  thousand  different  places  at  one  and  the 
same  instant.  Now,  if  this  be  true  of  our  Lord's  body,  it 
may  be  true  of  the  body  of  any  person  ;  for  he  was  "  in  all 
things  made  like  unto  his  brethren,"  and  took  our  very 
nature  upon  him,  sin  only  excepted.  Hence,  therefore,  ac- 
cording to  the  Roman  Catholic  principle,  this  is  possible  in 
the  case  of  Peter,  or  John,  or  Thomas,  or  any  one  else ; 
and  by  a  strange,  inexplicable,  and,  to  any  but  a  Roman 
Catholic,  incredible  absurdity,  it  may  be  asserted,  that  Peter 
is  fasting  in  London,  feasting  in  Paris,  and  asleep  in  Edin- 
burgli,  at  one  and  the  same  moment ;  because  a  true  body, 
according  to  this  doctrine,  may  at  the  same  moment  be  in 
different  places,  in  different  states  and  conditions,  and  under 
the  action  of  different  circumstances. 

I  know  the  Roman  Catholic  will  reply  —  "  All  things  are 
possible  with  God ;  God  is  omnipotent."  It  is  perfectly 
true ;  but  it  is  not  God's  omnipotence,  it  is  God's  written 
word,  that  is  the  rule  of  our  faith.  And  in  one  direction, 
at  least,  we  must  restrict  omnipotence ;  for  it  is  expressly 
said  by  the  inspired  penman,  that  God  "  cannot  lie."  "  But," 
rejoins  the  Roman  Catholic,  "  Christ's  body  is  now  a  spirit- 
ual body  ;  and  tliough  it  might  be  perfectly  true  of  a  mortal 
body  upon  earth,  that  it  could  not  be  in  ten  thousand  places 
at  the  same  moment,  it  may  be  true  of  his  now  glorified  and 
exalted  humanity.  Here,  however,  he  forgets  that  the  sup- 
per was  instituted  before  our  Lord  had  died,  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  been  glorified ;  and  there  is  no  reason  for  believ- 
ing that  what  was  not  true  then  is  true  now.  But  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  disputant  will  say  —  "  It  is  a  mystery,  and  are 
we  to  deny  mysteries  '  d(J  we  not  believe  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  which  is  equally  a  mystery  ?  "  Many  an  able  Pro- 
testant divine  has  involved  himself  in  inextricable  confusion 
here,  by  setting  out  with  the  postulate,  or  the  hypothesis, 
that  he  is  not  bound  to  believe  any  thing  that  is  above  his» 


352  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

senses.  We  assert,  on  the  contrary,  that  we  must  believe 
many  things  that  are  above  our  senses,  but  none  that  are 
contrary  to  them.  We  deny  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  is  to  be  placed  in  the  same  category  with  the  doc- 
trine of  Transubstantiation.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is 
a  sublime  and  spiritual  mystery,  confessedly  far  beyond  the 
range  or  grasp  of  man's  finite  intellect ;  but  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  is  a  thing  conversant  with  material  ele- 
ments, by  its  very  nature  coming  within  the  cognizance  of 
man's  senses ;  and  being  tried  by  man's  senses,  its  legitimate 
jury,  is  found  to  be  an  absurdity,  a  deception,  and  an  un- 
truth. 

To  show  you  further  the  necessary  and  revolting  results 
to  which  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  leads,  let  me 
briefly  refer  to  the  prefix  to  the  large  Latin  Missal  from 
which  Roman  Catholic  priests  usually  read  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  this  sacrament.  In  that  volume  (not  the  laity's 
edition,  for  that  omits  it),  there  is  a  treatise  de  Defectibus 
Missce,  that  is,  on  the  defects  which  may  occur  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Mass  or  the  Eucharist.  I  will  read  one  or 
two  of  its  statements,  to  show  the  absurd  as  well  as  painful 
and  revolting  results  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  of 
which  the  priests  themselves  must  be  thus  made  perfectly 
conscious.  "  Defects  in  the  celebration  of  the  Mass.  A 
defect  may  happen,  either  as  to  the  matter  to  be  consecra- 
ted, the  form  to  be  used,  or  the  officiating  minister ;  in 
whatever  of  these  there  be  any  defect,  there  is  no  sacra- 
ment made."  If  the  officiating  minister,  therefore,  should 
be  one  to  whom  a  single  link  is  wanting  in  the  long  chain 
of  succession,  that  stretches  through  eighteen  centuries  to 
the  days  of  the  apostles,  the  deficiency  is  such  that  there  is 
no  sacrament  at  all ;  and  in  that  case,  the  Roman  Catholic, 
on  his  own  principles,  worships  flour  and  water  instead  of 
God,  and  trusts  to  the  semblance  of  a  sacrifice  instead  of  the 
reality.     Again :  "  Defects  that  may  occur  in  reference  to 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  353 

the  bread.  If  the  bread  be  not  of  wheat,  or  if,  being  of 
wheat,  it  be  mixed  with  such  a  quantity  of  other  grain  that 
it  doth  not  remain  wheaten  bread,  or  if  it  be  in  any  other 
way  corrupted,  the  sacrament  is  not  made ; "  that  is  to  say, 
the  transubstantiation  does  not  take  place.  Again  :  "  If  the 
wine  be  quite  sour,  or  quite  putrid,  or  be  made  of  sour 
grapes,  the  sacrament  is  not  made."  Just  mark  the  fearful 
casualties  to  which  every  Roman  Catholic  is  necessarily 
subject.  If  the  flour  merchant  should  have  mixed  the 
wheaten  flour  with  grain  of  an  inferior  description,  or  if  the 
baker  should  have  introduced  flour  of  a  lower  quality,  in 
vain  does  the  priest  pronounce  the  magic  words  of  consecra- 
tion; they  worship  what,  upon  their  own  theory,  is  then 
flour  and  water  still.  Or  if  the  wine  merchant  has  cor- 
rupted the  wine,  by  an  admixture  of  water,  or  of  wine  pro- 
duced from  sour  grapes,  or  by  any  other  vitiating  elements, 
the  priest's  blessing  is  in  vain,  and  the  wine  remains 
wine,  and  is  not  transubstantiated  into  the  Saviour's 
blood.  Am  I  not  justified  in  saying,  that  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic is  dependent  on  his  flour  merchant  and  his  wine  mer- 
chant for  the  sacrifice  for  his  sins  —  for  the  God  that  he 
adores  ?  I  omit  many  other  equally  gross  defects :  one  is, 
provision  against  an  animal  running  away  with  what  the 
Romanist  beUeves  to  be  the  body  of  Christ. 

Nor  is  this  the  whole  extent  of  the  casualties  to  which  the 
Roman  Catholic  is  liable.  Defects  may  occur  on  the  part 
of  the  ofliciating  minister ;  and  the  first  is  in  "  intention," 
the  next  in  "  vestments,"  and  "  disposition  in  the  service 
itself  as  to  those  matters  which  can  occur  in  it."  Popery, 
you  perceive,  attaches  a  sacramental  and  mysterious  virtue 
to  the  vestments  that  the  priest  wears  ;  and,  accordingly,  a 
Roman  Catholic  looks  upon  the  priest  in  those  robes  as 
altogether  a  different  being  from  what  he  is  on  the  highway; 
EO  much  so,  that  I  have  heard  from  Irish  clergymen,  upon 
whose  word  I  could  place  implicit  credence,  that  the  very 
30* 


354  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

persons  who  would  maltreat  a  priest  upon  the  highway,  and 
show  him  no  respect  whatever,  would  fall  down  before  him 
in  the  chapel,  as  possessed  of  something  of  the  attributes, 
and  robed  in  the  authority  of  God.  Now  it  is  here  asserted, 
that  if  the  priest  is  in  wrong  vestments,  the  sacrament  is  not 
made.  But  above  all,  there  is  no  sacrament  if  the  priest's 
"  intention "  is  wanting ;  as  if,  for  instance,  he  should  not 
"believe  in  transubstantiation ;  and  many  priests  have  disbe- 
lieved it,  and  one  of  them  (Mr.  Nolan)  declares  that  he  did 
snot  believe  it  for  at  least  two  years  before  he  left  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church.  Many  priests  on  the  Continent  and 
in  Ireland  are  sceptics  at  heart ;  and  in  all  such  cases,  there 
is  no  transubstantiation  of  the  material  elements  into  the 
body  and  blood  of  our  blessed  Lord ;  and  the  assembled 
congregation  bow  down  to  that,  which,  on  their  own  princi- 
ples, must  be  confessed  to  remain  flour  and  water  still,  and 
rest  upon  that  which  is  no  propitiatory  sacrifice  at  all.  And 
therefore,  when  the  Roman  Catholic  uses  all  plausible  pre- 
texts to  withdraw  you  from  a  Church,  which  he  describes 
as  all  discord,  and  division,  and  uncertainty,  you  have  a 
right  to  tell  him,  that  there  is  no  church  under  heaven, 
where  all  is  so  uncertain,  so  precarious,  so  unsettled,  as  that 
which  professes  to  save  you  from  the  doubts  of  Protestant- 
ism, and  guarantee  you,  without  any  anxiety,  all  the  glories 
of  heaven. 

I  have  thus  shown  you  some  of  the  extravagant  results  to 
which  this  doctrine  must  necessarily  lead ;  I  have  laid 
l3efore  you  some  of  the  consequences  of  asserting  that  the 
senses  may  be  deceived ;  I  have  stated  what  a  weapon  is 
thus  put  into  the  hands  of  the  infidel ;  I  have  proved,  by 
express  passages  of  Scripture,  that  what  was  bread  before 
consecration  is  bread  afterwards;  I  have  pointed  out  the 
consequences  of  the  defects,  admitted  by  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic himself  as  not  unlikely  to  occur ;  and  I  think,  that  what 
I  have  said  will  impress  upon  you,  that  the  Protestant  doc- 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  355 

trine  of  the  Eucharist  is  the  true  one,  which  teaches  you  to 
take  that  bread  at  the  Lord's  Table,  in  remembrance  of  that 
Saviour  who  died  upon  the  cross  to  atone  for  our  sins,  and 
in  joyful  anticipation  of  his  second  advent,  when  he  shall 
come  and  reign  "  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  rivers  unto 
the  ends  of  the  earth." 

Suffer  me  now,  in  conclusion,  to  show  you  that  our 
blessed  Lord,  in  speaking  in  these  passages  of  "  bread,"  has 
chosen  a  symbol,  as  beautiful  as  it  is  expressive,  of  the 
blessings  of  his  incarnation,  and  the  benefits  of  his  meritori- 
ous passion.  And  it  does  seem  to  me  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting proofs  of  the  divinity  of  Scripture,  as  well  as  the 
wisdom  of  our  blessed  Lord,  that  when  he  instituted  this 
permanent  symbol  of  his  death  —  this  perfect  epitome  of 
his  love  —  he  did  not  ransack  the  caves  of  ocean  for  their 
concealed  gems,  nor  the  bowels  of  the  earth  for  its  hidden 
gold;  nor  did  he  command  those  who  would  observe  the 
ceremony  to  slay  their  first-born,  or  to  bring  costly  offerings 
to  heap  upon  the  shrine,  and  to  decorate  the  altar ;  but  he 
took  the  simplest  element  —  which  is  found  in  every  coun- 
try, which  the  poor  have,  and  the  rich  cannot  do  without  — 
and  he  made  that  the  eloquent  seal  of  truths  so  sublime  that 
angels  cannot  grasp  them,  of  blessings  so  vast  that  eternity 
cannot  exhaust  them,  and  of  a  Gospel  so  glorious  that  the 
poorest  and  the  richest  have  it  equally  within  their  reach. 

Our  Lord,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
likens  himself  to  the  manna  which  the  children  of  Israel  ate 
as  their  heaven-sent  bread  in  the  wilderness :  let  us  look 
for  a  moment  at  this  symbol,  as  descriptive  of  him  and  his 
benefits.  In  the  first  place,  the  manna  came  from  heaven 
direct ;  it  was  not  the  product  of  earth,  like  the  flower  that 
blooms  upon  its  surface,  or  the  ore  that  is  treasured  in  its 
bowels,  or  the  waters  that  spring  from  its  fountains.  In  all 
this  it  shadows  forth  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  "  came  down 
from  heaven,"  Heaven's  high  gift  to  man's  lost  and  ruined 


356  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

race  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  When  the 
manna  fell  down  from  heaven,  the  Israelites  were  so  sur- 
prised at  it  that  they  exclaimed, -Mx7^7^^« — What  is  thtsf 
They  could  hardly  believe  it  was  really  nutriment  for  their 
perishing  bodies.  So  when  the  Redeemer  came  from 
heaven  to  redeem  the  lost,  the  world  "  saw  no  beauty  in 
him  ; "  he  appeared  as  "  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,"  he  was 
"  despised  and  rejected  of  men ; "  "  they  esteemed  him 
not."  The  manna  was  the  unsought,  unmerited  gift  of 
God.  So  was  our  blessed  Redeemer ;  not  one  soul  cried 
from  its  ruin  for  the  interposition  of  Heaven's  mercy ;  "  all 
flesh  had  corrupted  its  way,"  and  the  simultaneous  expres- 
sion of  every  man's  real  feelings  was,  "  No  God : "  but  God 
"  remembered  us  in  our  low  estate  ; "  "  not  that  we  loved 
God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  a  propitia- 
tion for  us."  Further  ;  the  manna  descended  equally  upon 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  priests  and  the  people,  the  learned 
and  the.  unlearned.  So  Christ  comes,  and  is  offered  to 
every  creature  under  heaven ;  the  richest  man  that  lives 
cannot  spend  eternity  in  happiness  without  Christ,  and  the 
poorest  beggar  by  the  way-side  need  not  live  and  need  not 
die  without  Christ.  Again :  the  manna  spread  itself  over 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  desert;  and  if  any  man  per- 
ished for  lack  of  food,  it  was  not  because  there  was  no 
manna  wherewith  to  nourish  him,  but  because  he  had  no 
desire  or  disposition  to  gather  it.  So  now,  if  one  soul  is 
lost  in  that  eternity  which  is  to  come,  it  is  not  because 
there  is  no  efficacy  in  the  Saviour's  blood,  it  is  not  because 
there  is  no  love  in  God's  heart ;  it  is  because  it  has  loved 
sin  more  than  it  has  loved  its  own  high  interest,  and  pre- 
ferred the  world  to  Jesus  Christ,  "  the  Lamb  of  God  that 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  The  Israelites,  however, 
had  to  go  out  of  their  tents  in  order  to  gather  the  manna 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  357 

as  if  to  show  that  God  will  not  work  a  miracle,  where  ordi- 
nary means  are  perfectly  sufficient.  So  is  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel :  you  must  come  and  hear,  —  and  the  very  fact 
of  coming  to  hear  involves  some  sacrifice ;  and  our  blessed 
Lord's  words,  whilst  they  imply  no  merit  on  the  part  of 
man,  yet  compel  a  vigorous  use  of  means  — "  Ye  will  not 
come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have  life."  We  read,  again, 
that  when  the  manna  fell,  it  was  so  wisely  and  so  beau- 
tifully arranged,  that  "  he  that  gathered  much  had  nothing 
over,  and  he  that  gathered  little  had  no  lack."  So  is 
it  with  faith  in  Christ ;  it  is  not  that  the  man  who  has 
great  faith,  thereby  receives  a  great  saviour,  and  the  man 
who  has  little  faith,  a  little  saviour  ;  the  man  who  has 
strong  faith,  that  '*can  remove  mountains,"  and  the  man 
who  has  a  faith  that  trembles  on  the  very  verge  of  extinc- 
tion, receive  equal  righteousness,  an  equal  Saviour,  equal 
pardon,  equal  happiness,  and  an  equal  home.  It  is  also 
related,  that  when  the  manna  fell,  it  adapted  itself  to  every 
man's  taste.  So  is  it  with  our  blessed  Redeemer  ;  he  is  so 
fitted  to  supply  the  wants,  and  suit  all  the  varied  tastes  of 
the  children  of  men,  that  they  who  have  known  most  of  his 
grace,  find  it  sweetest ;  and  they  who  can  perceive  sweet- 
ness in  nought  beside,  are  constrained  to  admit  that  his 
word  is  sweeter  than  honey  from  the  honey-comb,  and  his 
truth  more  precious  than  fine  gold.  Such  is  Christ,  as  he  is 
set  before  us  in  the  Scriptures ;  and  such  the  free  welcome 
of  all,  to  receive  the  benefits  and  blessings  of  his  glorious 
salvation. 

When  the  Israelites  collected  the  manna,  we  find  the  time 
but  not  the  manner  of  gathering  it  prescribed.  It  is  not 
stated  that  they  were  all  obliged  to  use  only  one  kind  of 
basket,  and  that  only  that  one  kind  of  basket  sufficed  to 
contain  it.  This  teaches  us  a  very  beautiful  and  catholic 
lesson :  what  the  basket  was  to  the  manna,  the  visible  min- 
istry is  to  the  bread  of  life,  the  true  bread  that  cometh  down 


358  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

from  heaven.  It  is  God's  ordinance  that  there  shall  be  a 
visible  church,  but  it  is  not  God's  ordinance  that  it  shall  be 
the  same  in  all  circumstances,  the  same  in  all  its  rites,  in  its 
discipline,  in  its  formularies,  in  its  laws,  and  internal  ar- 
rangements. The  color,  and  shape,  and  size  of  the  baskets 
vary,  but  the  contents  are  all  the  same.  We  do  not  read,  in 
the  simple  record  of  the  Israelites  collecting  the  manna  in  the 
wilderness,  that  one  collected  it  with  a  golden  basket,  another 
with  a  silver,  and  a  third  with  a  wicker ;  and  that  he  who 
had  but  a  wicker  basket  did  not  receive  true  manna,  and 
that  it  was  collected  by,  and  nourished  and  refreshed,  only 
by  those  who  had  golden  baskets.  Nor  is  it  so  witli  the 
living  bread.  I  will  grant,  if  you  please,  that  in  the  Church 
of  England  they  have  a  golden  basket  wherewith  to  collect 
the  manna,  and  that  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  they  have 
but  a  wicker  basket ;  but  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  in  the 
day  of  judgment,  the  question  w^ill  not  be,  by  what  process 
or  with  what  vessel  you  collected,  but  whether  you  have 
really  gathered  and  been  nourished  with  the  bread  of  life. 
Living  nutriment  for  the  soul  is  the  main  thing ;  secure  this, 
and  all  besides  is  subordinate.  The  existing  distinctions  by 
which  the  visible  church  is  now  characterized  will  all  be 
abolished.  The  question  at  the  judgment-morn  will  not  be 
what  is  made  so  much  of  now.  Attendant  angels  will  in- 
quire, "  What  are  these,  and  whence  came  they  ?  "  —  and 
the  answer,  in  reference  to  those  who  are  about  to  enter  the 
kingdom  of  glory,  will  not  be,  "  These  are  worshippers  from 
St.  Paul's,"  "  These  are  worshippers  from  St.  George's," 
"  These  are  from  the  English,  and  these  from  the  Scotch 
Church,"  "  These  are  from  Surrey  Chapel,"  "  These  are 
Dissenters,  and  those  are  Churchmen;"  but  the  response 
that  Avill  come  from  the  Judge  upon  the  throne,  and  from 
the  redeemed  myriads  around  him,  will  be  simply  this  — 
"  These  are  they  that  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  therefore  are  they 
before  the  throiie  of  God." 


LECTURE    XIII. 

THE    SACRIFICE    OF   THE   MASS. 

In  last  Lecture  I  discussed  the  doctrine  of  Transubstan- 
tiation ;  and  on  that  occasion  I  proved  to  you,  that  this  doc- 
trine involves  so  many  extravagant  consequences,  implies  so 
many  absurd  and  improbable  demands,  and  contradicts  so 
plainly  and  expressly  the  whole  analogy  of  Scripture,  that 
we  are  bound  to  reject  it  as  a  superstitious  dogma,  —  as 
either  no  part  of  Sacred  Writ,  or  directly  condemned  in  it. 
I  also  observed  upon  that  occasion,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Propitiatory  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  based  upon  the  previous 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation  ;  and  that  if  transubstantiation 
has  been  proved  to  be  false,  it  is  utterly  impossible  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  mass  can  be  proved  to  be  true ;  the  latter 
resting  for  its  strength  and  existence  upon  the  former.  But 
such  is  the  power,  and  so  vast  and  varied  are  the  resources 
of  Christian  truth,  that  we  can  afford,  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment, to  grant  to  the  Roman  Catholics  that  transubstantia- 
tion is  true,  and  yet  we  can  demonstrate  from  Scripture 
that  the  so-called  propitiatory  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is 
untenable. 

The  propitiatory  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  I  may  observe,  is 
the  great  and  distinguishing  peculiarity  of  Roman  Catholic 
worship.  Ask  the  Roman  Catholic  on  a  Sunday  morning 
where  he  is  going,  and  his  answer  will  immediately  be  — 
"  To  Mass."  It  is  the  substance  and  body  of  worship  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  service,  constituting,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
great  distinction  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  in  contrast  to  all 


360  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  churches  of  the  Reformation ;  and  forming,  on  the  other, 
the  great  basis  of  the  faith  and  hopes  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic worshipper.  If  it  be  false,  all  Popery  is  an  awful  su- 
perstition; if  it  be  true,  we  Protestants  are  in  extreme 
and  instant  jeopardy. 

The  meaning  of  the  expression  —  "  the  Mass,"  may  be 
briefly  stated.  Some  ancient  Roman  Catholic  doctors  have 
tried  to  deduce  this  word  from  the  Hebrew ;  but  as  it  is 
quite  clear  that  the  mass  was  unknown  to  the  Hebrews, 
even  by  Roman  Catholic  admission,  we  cannot  suppose  that 
it  is  derived  from  any  part  of  their  service,  or  probably 
from  any  expression  in  their  language.  The  true  origin  of 
it  would  seem  to  be  this :  At  the  close  of  the  service  in  the 
Latin  or  Western  Church,  when  the  Holy  Communion  was 
to  be  celebrated,  and  the  ordinary  ritual  of  the  day  was 
done,  the  priest  addressed  the  people  from  the  pulpit,  and 
said  —  "  Missa  est ;  "  that  is,  "  The  congregation  is  dis- 
missed ; "  and  then  followed  the  Communion,  immediately 
after  the  dismission  of  the  congregation  —  that  is,  of  those 
who  were  not  strictly  what  we  call  members  or  communi- 
cants. From  this  expression,  "  Missa  est,^'  being  thus  an- 
ciently used  previously  to  the  celebration  of  the  Communion, 
the  Communion  came  to  be  called,  in  very  early  times, 
"  Missa,"  and  hence,  in  English,  "  the  Mass." 

Let  me  now  explain  to  you,  from  Roman  Catholic  docu- 
ments of  authority,  what  the  doctrine  of  the  Mass  really  is. 

The  following  declaration  is  contained  in  the  Creed  of 
Pope  Pius  IV.,  which  is  a  summary  of  the  faith  held  by 
every  Roman  Catholic.  The  words  are  solemn,  and  the 
doctrine  they  imply  peculiarly  awful :  "  I  profess,  that  in 
the  mass  there  is  offered  to  God  a  true,  proper,  and  propi- 
tiatory sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead." 

In  the  chapters  on  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  from  the 
twenty-second  session  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  held  in  the 
year  1562,  there  are  various  definitions  and  explanations 


THE   SACRIFICE    OP   THE    MASS.  361 

given  of  this  doctrine.  The  first  chapter  is  to  the  following 
effect :  "  Since,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  witnesseth,  under  the 
former  testament  there  was  no  perfection,  by  reason  of  the 
imperfection  of  the  Levitical  priesthood,  it  was  necessary, 
according  to  the  ordinance  of  God,  the  Father  of  mercies, 
that  another  priest  should  arise ;  he,  therefore,  our  Lord  and 
God,  although  he  was  able  to  offer  himself  once  for  all  upon 
the  altar  of  the  cross,  by  the  intervention  of  death,  that  there 
he  might  work  eternal  redemption,  yet,  because  his  priest- 
hood was  not  to  be  extinguished  by  death,  in  his  last  Sup- 
per, *  the  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,'  that  he  might 
leave  to  his  beloved  spouse  the  Church  a  visible  sacrifice, 
according  to  the  exigencies  of  man's  nature,  by  which  that 
bloody  one,  once  for  all  performed  on  the  cross,  might  be 
represented,  and  the  memory  of  it  remain  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  its  saving  virtue  be  applied  for  the 
remission  of  those  sins  which  are  daily  committed  by  us, 
declaring  himself  to  be  ordained  ^  a  priest  forever,  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec,'  offered  to  God  the  Father  his  body 
and  blood,  under  the  species  of  bread  and  wine ;  and  under 
the  symbols  of  the  same  things  delivered  them  to  the 
apostles,  whom  he  then  appointed  priests  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, that  they  might  receive  them  ;  and  in  these  words  — 
*  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me,'  he  charged  them  and  their 
successors  in  the  priesthood  that  they  should  offer  him,  as 
the  Catholic  Church  has  always  understood  and  taught. 
For  after  the  celebration  of  the  old  Passover,  he  instituted  a 
new  Passover,  even  himself,  to  be  sacrificed  by  the  Church, 
through  the  priests,  under  visible  signs,  in  memory  of  his 
departure  from  this  world  to  the  Father,  while  by  the  shed- 
ding of  his  blood  he  redeemed  us,  and  snatched  us  from  the 
power  of  darkness,  and  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

Let  me  next  refer  to  the  Tridentine  Canons  on  the  Mass. 
The  first  is  —  "  If  any  man  shall  say,  that  in  the  mass  there 
ol 


362  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

is  not  oifered  to  God  a  true  and  proper  sacrifice,  let  liim  be 
accursed."  The  second  —  "  If  any  man  shall  say,  that  in 
these  words  '  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me,'  Christ  did 
not  appoint  the  apostles  to  be  priests,  or  did  not  ordain  that 
they  and  other  priests  should  offer  his  body  and  blood,  let 
him  be  accursed."  And  the  third  —  "  If  any  man  shall  say, 
that  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is  only  a  sacrifice  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  or  a  bare  commemoration  of  the  sacrifice  made 
on  the  cross,  and  that  it  is  not  propitiatory,  or  that  it  profits 
only  the  receiver,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  offered  for  the 
living  and  the  dead,  for  their  sins,  etc.,  let  him  be  accursed." 
And  again  —  "  If  any  shall  say,  that  by  the  sacrifice  of  the 
mass,  blasphemy  is  offered  to  the  most  holy  sacrifice  of 
Christ  accomplished  on  the  cross,  or  that  it  is  dishonored,  let 
him  be  accursed."  Such  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  upon  this  subject. 

Now,  as  I  have  endeavored  throughout  to  expose  the  ac- 
cordance that  subsists  between  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  and  those  held  by  the  Tractarians  of  England,  I 
will  show  you,  by  one  or  two  brief  extracts,  that  these  latter 
ought,  to  be  consistent,  to  find  their  congenial  home  and  their 
appropriate  locality  in  the  domains  of  the  Pope,  and  in 
communion  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

I  quote,  first,  from  Tract  38.  "  Laicus.  For  instance, 
in  King  Edward's  first  book,  the  dead  in  Christ  were  prayed 
for ;  in  the  second,  the  commemoration  was  omitted.  Again, 
in  the  first  book,  the  elements  of  the  Lord's  Supper  were 
more  distinctly  offered  up  to  God,  and  more  formally  conse- 
crated, than  in  the  second  edition,  or  at  present.  Had  Queen 
Mary  not  succeeded,  perhaps  the  men  who  effected  this 
would  have  gone  further."  "  Clericus.  I  believe  they 
would ;  nay,  indeed  they  did  at  a  subsequent  period ;  they 
took  away  the  liturgy  altogether,  and  substituted  a  direc- 
tory." The  Tractarian,  you  observe,  expresses  his  great 
satisfaction  that  Mary  carae  to  the  throne,  and  prevented 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    THE    MASS.  363 

Protestantism  expanding  any  further  —  and  his  great  regret, 
that  after  the  days  of  Mary,  and  notwithstanding  all  her 
very  pious  efforts,  a  Protestant  ritual  or  liturgy  has  been 
preserved  for  the  Anglican  branch  of  the  Protestant  Church. 

Mr.  Froude,  another  of  these  divines,  remarks  —  "I  am 
more  and  more  indignant  at  the  Protestant  doctrine  of  the 
Eucharist,  and  think  that  the  principle  on  which  it  is 
founded  is  irrational,  proud,  and  foolish  as  any  heresy,  even 
Socinianism.  When  we  find  that  the  Church  has  always 
considered  the  holy  sacrament  to  be  not  only  a  feast,  but  a 
sacrifice,  we  must  look  upon  our  present  condition  as  a  judg- 
ment upon  us  for  what  our  Reformers  did." 

I  quote  also  from  Tract  81.  "It  may  be  well  in  these 
days,  before  going  further,  to  state  what  the  doctrine  of  the 
Eucharist  is.  The  doctrine,  then,  of  the  early  Church  is 
this :  that  in  the  Eucharist  an  oblation  or  sacrifice  is  made 
by  the  Church  to  God,  under  the  form  of  bread  and  wine, 
according  to  our  blessed  Lord's  holy  institution,  in  memory 
of  his  cross  and  passion ;  and  this  they  believed  to  be  the 
'  pure  offering'  or  sacrifice,  which  the  prophet  Malachi  fore- 
told that  the  Gentiles  should  offer ;  and  that  it  was  enjoined 
by  our  Lord  in  these  words,  '  Do  this  for  a  memorial  of  me  ;' 
and  that  it  was  alluded  to  when  our  Lord,  or  St.  Paul,  spake 
of  a  Christian  altar,  and  was  typified  by  the  Passover,  which 
was  both  a  sacrifice,  and  a  feast  upon  a  sacrifice." 

In  this  tract  the  very  language  of  the  most  strenuous  de- 
fenders of  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  mass,  is  liter- 
ally and  almost  verbatim  used.  And  to  show  you  that  the 
Tractarians  are  not  only  resuscitating  Roman  Catholic  doc- 
trine, but  are  even  proud  to  borrow  or  steal  Roman  Catholic 
language  when  they  can  lay  hold  of  it,  I  will  read  you  an 
extract  from  Dr.  Delahogue,  professor  in  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic College  of  Maynooth.  He  says  —  "  The  holy  fathers 
require  altars  for  celebration  of  the  Eucharist ;  they  call 
the  ministers  of  the  Eucharist  priests,  and  their  office  priest- 


364  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

hood,  and  expressly  say  that  they  sacrifice  for  the  Emperor, 
for  Bishops,  for  the  Church,  for  the  whole  world."  Mucli 
of  the  language,  you  perceive,  is  identical,  and  the  ideas  are 
perfectly  so ;  in  fact,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  author 
of  Tract  81,  as  far  as  I  can  estimate  his  views  upon  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation  and  the  Eucharist,  from  in- 
stantly joining  the  Roman  Catholic  communion. 

One  more  extract  from  the  same  tract ;  and  it  is  so  very 
decidedly  Roman  Catholic  language,  as  well  as  Roman 
Catholic  doctrine,  that  you  can  have  no  question  about  it  at 
all.  "  This  commemorative  oblation  or  sacrifice  they  doubted 
not  to  be  acceptable  to  God,  who  had  appointed  it,  and  to 
be  a  means  of  bringing  down  God's  favor  upon  the  whole 
Church ;  and  how  should  it  be  otherwise,  when  they  pre- 
sented to  the  Almighty  Father  the  symbols  and  the  memo- 
rials of  the  meritorious  death  and  passion  of  his  only  begot- 
ten and  beloved  Son,  and  besought  him,  hy  that  precious 
sacrifice,  to  look  graciously  upon  the  Church,  which  he  had 
purchased  by  his  own  blood?  It  is,  then,  to  use  our  techni- 
cal phraseology,  a  commemorative  impetratory  sacrifice  ;  that 
is,  a  sacrifice  that  deserves  and  obtains  blessings.  The 
Eucharist,  then,  according  to  them,  consists  of  two  parts  — 
a  commemorative  sacrifice,  and  a  communion  ;  the  sacrifice, 
obtaining  remission  of  sins  for  the  Church,  —  the  com- 
munion, the  strengthening  and  refreshing  of  the  soul.  As 
being,  moreover,  appointed  by  the  Lord,  they  believed  that 
the  continued  oblation  of  this  sacrifice,  like  the  daily  sacri- 
fice appointed  in  the  elder  Church,  was  a  benefit  to  the 
whole  Church,  independently  and  over  and  above  the  benefit 
to  the  individual  communicants ;  that  the  sacrifices  in  each 
branch  of  the  Christian  Church  were  mutually  of  benefit  to 
every  other  branch,  God  for  its  sake  difi"using  unseen  and 
inestimable  blessings  throughout  the  whole  body.  Lastly"  — 
(observe  how  the  Tractarian  follows  in  the  wake  of  the 
Chui'ch  of  Rome,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  hojds  the  mass  to 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF   THE    MASS.  365 

be  a  sacrifice  propitiatory  for  the  sins,  not  only  of  the  living, 
but  also  of  the  dead,)  —  "  lastly,  since  they  knew  not  of  our 
chill  separation  between  those  who,  being  dead  in  Christ, 
live  to  Christ  and  with  Christ,  and  those  who  are  yet  in  the 
tiesh,  they  "  (the  great  fathers  of  the  Church)  "  felt  assured 
this  sacrifice,  offered  by  the  Church  on  earth  for  the  whole 
Church,  conveyed  to  that  portion  of  it  which  had  passed 
into  the  unseen  world,  such  benefits  of  Christ's  death  as, 
their  conflicts  over,  and  they  at  rest,  were  still  applicable  to 
them  —  namely,  to  those  that  were  dead,  additional  refresh- 
ment, additional  joys  and  satisfactions." 

The  language  and  the  sentiments  of  the  Romish  and 
Tractai'ian  doctors,  are  perfectly  identical ;  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  from  these  extracts,  that  the  Tract'arian  divines 
plainly  and  distinctly  hold  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine,  that 
in  the  Eucharist  there  is  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins 
of  the  living  and  the  dead.  And  how  they  can  reconcile  it 
to  their  superiors,  how  they  can  reconcile  it  to  their  con- 
sciences, how  they  can  reconcile  it  to  their  God,  to  announce 
such  sentiments,  and  yet  sign  the  Article,  that  the  Mass  is 
"  a  blasphemous  fable  and  a  dangerous  deceit,"  I  leave  them 
to  consider  —  the  Judgment  morning  to  determine. 

Now,  in  calling  your  attention  to  this  doctrine,  let  us 
clearly  understand  what  we  are  about  to  discuss.  "We  do 
not  deny  there  are  sacrifices  in  the  Christian  Church. 
Praise  is  a  sacrifice ;  prayer  is  a  sacrifice ;  almsgiving  is  a 
sacrifice ;  our  own  bodies  are  offered  as  sacrifices.  "  Pre- 
sent your  bodies  living  sacrifices ; "  "  To  do  good  and  to 
communicate  forget  not,  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well 
pleased."  But  the  distinction  is  this:  we  contend,  that 
whilst  there  are  a  thousand  spiritual  sacrifices  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  offered  to  God  by  believers  every  day,  there 
is,  and  has  been,  and  will  be,  but  one  propitiatory  sacrifice 
offered  once  for  all  upon  the  cross  by  oar  blessed  Lord. 
The  whole  distinction  lies  in  the  word  propitiatory  —  impe- 
31  * 


366  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

tratory,  or  atoning ;  there  being  but  one  propitiatory  sacri« 
fice,  and  that  Christ's  —  there  being  many  spiritual  sacri- 
fices offered  up  by  believers  in  the  church  every  day. 

The  first  argument  of  Roman  Catholic  divines  is  taken 
from  the  antiquity  of  the  doctrine.  They  say,  the  solemn 
services  of  the  mass  have  resounded  in  the  cathedrals  and 
the  churches  of  Europe  for  fifteen  centuries,  undisturbed 
and  uninterrupted  till  the  days  of  Luther.  Now,  if  it  were 
so,  this  would  be  no  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine ; 
antiquity  is  not  a  test  of  truth :  if  antiquity  were  a  proof 
of  truth,  ^sop's  Fables  would  be  truer  than  St.  Paul's 
Epistles,  for  they  are  some  years  older.  But  show  us,  they 
say,  the  period  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  when 
this  so-called  new  dogma  was  introduced,  if  it  be  a  novelty, 
and  form  no  part  of  the  apostolic  revelation ;  and  they  tell 
you,  that  unless  you  can  show  the  precise  day  and  hour 
when  it  was  first  preached,  you  are  bound  to  believe  that  it 
is  a  true  and  primitive  doctrine,  and  receive  it  as  such.  We 
answer.  This  is  to  make  chronology,  instead  of  Scripture, 
the  criterion  of  truth.  It  matters  not  when  the  tares  may 
have  been  sown,  if  they  are  proved  to  be  tares  by  compar- 
ing them  with  the  wheat.  Suppose,  on  some  morning  in 
May,  a  husband  and  wife  walk  forth  into  the  garden,  and 
the  wife  notices  upon  the  loveliest  rose  tree  two  or  three 
caterpillars  crawling  up  the  stem ;  she  calls  to  her  husband, 
"  Do  you  see  these  new  and  unexpected  rose-buds  that  have 
started  into  birth  and  beauty?"  The  husband  naturally 
replies  —  "  Rose-buds  !  they  are  caterpillars :  how  can  you 
declare  them  to  be  rose-buds  ?  "  Suppose  the  wife  to  reply — 
"  Unless  you  can  show  the  precise  hour  of  the  night  when 
these  so-called  caterpillars  crept  upon  the  tree,  I  feel  bound 
to  believe  that  they  are  rose-buds,  and  not  caterpillars :  but 
if  you  can  show  that  they  crept  on  at  a  given  hour  and 
minute,  then  I  will  believe  that  they  are  what  you  call 
them,  and  not  what  I  have  expressed  them  to  be,  buds  from 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF   THE    MASS.  367 

the  parent  stem."  It  needs  but  to  be  stated,  to  create  a 
smile  at  the  absurdity  of  saying  —  "I  will  hold  darkness  to 
be  light,  error  to  be  truth,  delusion  to  be  precious  gospel, 
unless  you  can  specify  the  hour  in  the  midnight  of  Europe, 
when,  Christianity  being  overpowered  by  superstition,  and 
the  human  intellect  stagnant,  this  doctrine  crept  into  the 
church." 

The  next  proof  of  this  doctrine  quoted  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  is  found  in  certain  ancient  liturgies,  in 
which  they  declare  it  is  clearly  revealed ;  and  which  litur- 
gies they  assert  to  have  been  composed  by  the  men  whose 
names  they  respectively  bear.  There  are  three  of  them, 
bearing  the  names  of  Peter,  Mark,  and  James,  which  the 
Roman  Catholic  controversialist  asserts  to  have  been  com- 
posed by  the  Evangelist  Mark  and  the  Apostles  Peter  and 
James  ;  and  I  admit,  that  in  these  liturgies  there  unques- 
tionably is  language  that  approaches  that  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  doctrine  of  the  mass ;  and,  if  it  can  be  demon- 
strated that  the  liturgies  were  composed  by  the  sainted  men 
whose  names  they  claim,  the  Roman  Catholic  will  have  a 
very  strong  presumption,  though  by  no  means  a  Scripture 
proof,  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  the  mass.  But  I  allege, 
in  opposition  to  these  pretensions,  that  there  is  evidence 
upon  the  face  of  the  documents  in  question,  that  they  are 
impudent  and  flagitious  forgeries.  They  bear  internal  and 
unquestionable  proofs  of  being  the  composition  of  the  fourth 
or  fifth  century,  and  it  may  be  found  that  there  are  incor- 
porated with  them  doctrines  and  tenets  and  delusions  even 
of  a  later  century  than  that.  In  the  first  place,  in  one  of 
these  liturgies,  we  find  the  names  of  persons  introduced, 
who  lived  two  hundred  years  after  the  apostles  were  dead. 
Secondly,  in  these  liturgies  we  find  the  expression  "  Mother 
of  God"  applied  to  the  blessed  Virgin;  an  epithet  not 
known  until  the  discussions  in  the  time  of  the  Nestorian 
heresy  in  the  fifth  century.     In  the  next  place,  we  find  in 


868  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

them  prayers  expressly  offered  for  "  the  Patriarch ; "  a 
name  which,  it  is  admitted,  was  not  employed  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  till  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  We  find  in 
them,  also,  the  Trisagion,  as  it  is  called  —  the  Doxology, 
"  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be, 
world  without  end ; "  and  though  the  doctrine  involved  in 
this  is  unquestionably  contained  in  Holy  Scripture,  the 
peculiar  formula  or  mode  in  which  it  is  expressed  was  not 
introduced  into  the  public  service  of  the  Christian  Church 
until  a  much  later  era.  We  find,  likewise,  frequent  allu- 
sions to  an  order  of  men  not  known  in  the  Christian  Church 
in  the  early  centuries,  namely.  Confessors.  From  all  these 
internal  evidences,  we  conclude  that  these  liturgies  are 
forgeries ;  and  even  Cardinal  Bona,  and  the  celebrated 
Cardinal  Bellarmine,  admit  that  they  were  greatly  cor- 
rupted in  the  later  editions ;  while  the  historian  Dupiu, 
whose  candor  has  made  him  to  be  suspected  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  communion,  declares,  that  after  the  most  careful 
analysis,  he  must  hold  them  to  be  arrogant  and  contemptible 
forgeries.  Suppose  a  book  were  produced  in  the  present 
day,  declared  to  have  been  written  by  the  celebrated  John 
Wesley,  and  suppose  that  book  contained  an  account  of  the 
passing  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Emancipation  Act  (as  it  is 
called)  in  1829,  and  the  Reform  Act  in  1832,  and  other  bills 
subsequently  passed  in  the  British  Parliament ;  if  any  one 
maintained  that  this  book  was  the  veritable  composition  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  would  you  not  instantly  say  —  "  That  is  impos- 
sible, for  it  contains  allusions  to  transactions  that  occurred 
long  after  Wesley  was  dead  ?  Either  the  whole  must  be  a 
forgery,  or  it  must  be  so  interpolated  with  the  additions 
of  another,  that  I  cannot  receive  it  as  the  genuine  pro 
duction  of  that  distinguished  and  devoted  Christian."  So 
with  these  liturgies ;  they  must  be  either  so  interpolated 
that  no  superstructure  of  Christian  truth  can  be  based  upon 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF   THE    MASS.  369 

them,  or  (as  admitted  by  Dupin)  forgeries  altogether,  and 
unwortliy  of  the  credit  so  long  and  so  extensively  assigned 
to  them. 

There  is  one  more  reason,  independently  of  Scripture, 
adduced  by  the  Roman  Catholic  controversialist  in  defence 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  mass ;  and  that  is,  the  statements  of 
the  fathers  of  the  Christian  Church.  I  need  not  now  enter 
upon  this  subject,  because  we  have  already  discussed  it.  It 
is  sufficient  to  add,  that  if  you  allow  the  Roman  Catholic  to 
drag  you  into  the  complicated  writings  of  the  fathers  upon 
any  one  point  of  the  Protestant  faith,  you  will  find  that  the 
discussion,  instead  of  being  closed  with  triumph,  will  be  end- 
lessly protracted  —  the  one  quoting  on  one  side,  and  the 
other  on  the  contrary  —  even  to  the  Greek  Kalends.  The 
iact  is,  that  the  fathers  present  to  the  Roman  Catholic  dis- 
putant a  most  admirable  and  appropriate  means  of  defence ; 
and  he  quotes  their  writings  in  something  of  the  same  way  in 
which  the  American  sharpshooters  used  their  forests  in  the  late 
war.  Our  soldiers  relate,  that  when  a  sharpshooter  got  behind 
one  immense  trunk,  they  were  obliged  to  destroy  the  tree  be- 
fore they  could  dislodge  him ;  but  no  sooner  had  they  done 
this,  than  he  was  behind  another,  and  they  found  they  must 
sweep  America  of  its  forests,  before  they  could  sweep  Amer- 
ica of  its  rebels.  Just  so  in  this  controversy ;  you  must,  at 
the  outset,  clear  the  fields  of  all  the  claims  and  pretensions 
of  the  fathers,  or  bring  the  Romish  disputant  to  the  clear 
light  of  inspired  Scripture  —  to  "  the  law  and  the  testi- 
mony "  —  in  order  to  close  with  triumph  this  vital  contro- 
versy. 

Sometimes  it  is  worth  while  to  follow  the  Roman  Catholic 
to  the  fathers,  not  for  the  sake  of  quoting  from  them  to 
})rove  your  point,  but  for  the  sake  of  disproving  his.  TliP 
])lan  which  I  pursued  in  the  course  of  a  recent  discussion 
(and  which  I  think  is  the  only  safe  one)  was  this :  my  oppo-> 
nent  said,  that  he  would  produce  from  the  fathers  the  most 


370  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

overwhelming  extinction  of  all  the  pretensions  of  the  Prot- 
estant Church;  knowing  well,  that  if  he  seduced  me  into 
that  endless  forest,  he  could  protract  the  discussion  ad  injin 
itum.  I  told  him  —  As  sure  as  you  bring  an  extract  from  a 
father  apparently  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  the  mass,  so 
sure  I  will  bring  an  extract  from  the  same  father  in  opposi- 
tion to  it ;  and  when  I  have  placed  my  extract  by  the  side 
of  yours,  the  inference  I  shall  insist  upon  your  deducing  is, 
that  as  thefathers  contradict  one  the  other,  and  each  himself, 
it  must  be  our  duty  to  discard  all  secondary  testimony,  to 
pass  by  the  fathers,  and  appeal  to  the  grandfathers  —  the 
Apostles  and  Evangelists  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 

One  extract  from  a  father  I  will  adduce  on  this  subject, 
and  I  am  sure  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  it,  because  it  is 
so  beautifully  descriptive  of  the  practice  of  the  early  Church, 
in  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist.  It  is  from  Justin 
Martyr,  one  of  the  most  sainted  of  the  fathers.  If  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  mass  had  been  known  in  his  day,  a.  d.  140,  no 
doubt  he  would  have  given  a  detailed  and  circumstantial 
account  of  its  whole  ceremonial ;  for  in  this  passage  of  his 
celebrated  Apology  for  the  Christians,  (vol.  ii.  p.  07,  Paris 
edition,  1615,)  he  gives  a  full  description  of  the  Sabbath  ser- 
vice of  a  Christian  congregation.  I  extract  that  part  which 
treats  of  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist ;  and  I  must  say, 
though  I  admire  the  ceremonial  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
though  I  love  the  more  simple  ceremonial  of  the  Scottish 
Church ;  yet  I  do  think  that  the  service  described  by  Justin 
Martyr  is  neither  the  English  nor  the  Scotch ;  I  do  not 
attach  much  to  the  form,  or  think  it  of  any  great  value,  but 
such  is  the  fact.     Let  me  read  the  extract. 

"  Then  the  bread  and  the  cup  of  the  water  and  of  the 
wine  mixed  with  it,  is  offered  to  the  president  of  the  breth- 
ren, and  he,  taking  it,  offers  up  praise  and  glory  to  the  Father 
of  all,  in  the  name  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
at  some  length  he  performs  a  thanksgiving,  for  having  been 


THE    SACRIFICE    OP   THE    MASS.  371 

honored  with  these  things  by  him.  When  he  has  finished 
the  prayers  and  the  thanksgiving,  all  the  people  present  joy- 
fully cry  out,  Amen.  Amen  signifies,  in  the  Hebrew  tongue, 
So  be  it.  But  the  president  having  returned  thanks,  and 
all  the  people  having  joyfully  cried  out,  those  who  are  called 
by  us  deacons,  give  to  each  of  those  who  are  present,  a  por- 
tion of  the  bread  and  the  wine  and  the  water,  over  which  a 
thanksgiving  has  been  performed,  and  they  carry  away  some 
for  those  who  are  not  present.  And  this  food  is  called  by 
us  the  Eucharist,  of  which  no  one  is  permitted  to  partake, 
but  he  who  believes  that  the  things  taught  to  us  are  true,  and 
who  has  been  washed  for  the  remission  of  sins  and  for  re- 
generation, and  who  lives  as  Christ  has  enjoined.  For  we 
do  not  receive  these  things  as  common  bread,  or  common 
dj'ink ;  but  as  the  incarnate  Jesus  became,  by  the  word  of 
God,  Christ  our  Saviour,  and  received  flesh  and  blood  for 
our  salvation,  so  also  we  have  been  taught  that  the  food 
which  is  made  the  Eucharist  by  the  prayer,  according  to  his 
word,  by  which  our  flesh  and  blood  are  nourished,  is  both 
the  flesh  and  blood  of  that  incarnate  Jesus.  For  the  apos- 
tles, in  the  histories  which  they  have  written,  which  are 
called  Gospels,  have  thus  recorded  that  Jesus  commanded 
them ;  that  he,  taking  bread  and  giving  thanks,  said,  *  Do 
this  in  remembrance  of  me ;  This  is  my  body ; '  and  that 
he,  in  like  manner,  taking  the  cup  and  giving  thanks,  said, 
*  This  is  my  blood.'  And,  in  all  that  we  offer,  we  bless  the 
Maker  of  all  things  by  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  And  on  the  day  that  is  called  Sunday,  there 
is  an  assembly  in  the  same  place,  of  those  who  dwell  in 
towns  or  in  the  country ;  and  the  histories  of  the  apostles 
and  the  writings  of  the  prophets  are  read,  whilst  the  time 
permits:  then,  the  reader  ceasing,  the  president  verbally 
admonishes  and  exhorts  to  the  imitation  of  those  good  things. 
Then  we  all  rise  in  common  and  off*er  prayers,  and,  as  we 
have  already  said,  when  we  have  finished  our  prayers,  bread 


372  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

and  wine  and  water  are  offered,  and  the  president,  in  like 
manner,  offers  prayers  and  thanksgivings  as  far  as  it  is  in 
his  power  to  do  so,  and  the  people  joyfully  cry  out,  saying. 
Amen.  And  the  distribution  and  communication  is  to  each 
of  those  who  have  returned  thanks,  and  it  is  sent  by  the 
deacons  to  those  who  are  not  present.  Those  who  are  rich 
and  willing,  each  according  to  his  own  pleasure  contributes 
what  he  pleases ;  and  what  is  thus  collected  is  put  away  by 
the  president,  and  he  assists  the  orphans,  and  widows,  and 
those  who,  through  sickness  or  any  other  cause,  are  desti- 
tute, and  also  those  who  are  in  bondage,  and  those  who  are 
strangers  journeying,  and  in  short,  he  aids  all  those  who  are 
in  want.  But  we  all  meet  in  common  on  Sunday,  because 
it  is  the  first  day  in  the  which  God,  who  produced  the  dark- 
ness and  matter,  made  the  world;  and  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour  on  the  same  day  arose  from  the  dead."  * 

I  will  add  to  this  the  apostolic  description  in  1  Corinthi- 
ans xi.  23-27  :  "  For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which 
also  I  delivered  unto  you,  that  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  same 
night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  took  bread ;  and  when  he 
had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said.  Take,  eat ;  this  is 
my  body,  which  is  broken  for  you :  this  do  in  remembrance 
of  me.  After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the  cup,  when 
he  had  supped,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in 
my  blood :  this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance 
of  me.  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this 
cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come.  Where- 
fore, whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup  of 
the  Lord,  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord." 

In  order  to  show  you  the  complete  contrast  between  the 
simple  description  of  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist,  as 
related  in  the  pages  of  Justin,  or  as  it  is  embodied  in  the 

*  Apol.  I.  s.  65,  p.  155,  Jenie,  1847. 


THE    SACRIFICE    OP   THE    MASS.  378 

inspired  language  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
and  the  description  of  the  mass  »s  it  is  celebrated  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  I  will  give  you  the  rubrics  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  Missal,  or  mass-book.  In  Justin  Martyr,  we  read 
nothing  about  a  isQEug  [^/iiereics']  or  priest,  but  merely  of  "the 
president "  and  the  congregation ;  nothing  about  an  altar,  on 
A'hich  sacrifice  is  offered ;  nothing  about  the  elevation  of 
the  host ;  nothing  about  its  being  propitiatory  for  the  living 
and  the  dead.  But  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  we  read 
—  first,  that  the  priest  is  to  approach  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
saying  —  "In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost : "  the  congregation  are  then  to  utter  the 
following  confession  —  "I  confess  to  Almighty  God,  to 
blessed  Mary  ever  virgin,  to  blessed  Michael  the  archangel, 
to  blessed  John  the  Baptist,  to  the  holy  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  to  all  the  saints,  and  to  you,  father,  that  I  have  sinned 
exceedingly  in  thought,  word,  and  deed ;  therefore,  I  beseech 
the  blessed  Mary,  ever  virgin,  the  blessed  Michael  the  arch- 
angel, the  blessed  John  the  Baptist,  the  holy  Apostles  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  all  the  saints,  and  you,  O  father,  to  pray  for 
me ; "  then  the  priest  goes  to  the  altar,  and  prays  ;  then  he 
comes  back  ;  then  follows  the  Kyrie  eleison  ;  then  Gloria  in 
excelsis ;  then  he  is  to  turn  towards  the  people  and  salute 
them;  then  he  is  to  offer  up  the  following  collect  —  "Pre- 
serve us,  O  Lord,  we  beseech  thee,  from  all  dangers  of  body 
and  soul,  and  by  the  intercession  of  glorious  and  blessed 
Mary,  the  ever  virgin  mother  of  God,  of  the  blessed  Apos- 
tles Peter  and  Paul,"  etc.  etc. ;  then  he  is  to  repeat  the 
Nicene  Creed ;  here  follows  the  Offertory ;  then  the  priest  is 
to  put  wine  and  water  into  the  chalice ;  then  there  is  the 
oblation  of  the  chalice;  then  the  priest  bows;  then  he 
incenses  the  altar ;  then  he  gives  the  censer  to  the  deacon  : 
then  he  washes  his  hands ;  then  he  bows  before  the  middle 
of  the  altar  ;  then  he  reads  the  secret,  etc.  etc. ;  then  follows 
the  Canon  of  the  Mass,  strictly  so  called,  and  at  this  point, 
32 


374  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

kneeling  down,  he  adores  and  elevates  the  chalice  ;  then  he 
presents  special  sacrifice  in  commemoration  of  the  dead; 
then  special  mention  is  made  of  the  dead ;  then  he  strikes 
his  breast,  and  confesses ;  then  he  prays ;  then  again  he 
bows  and  confesses ;  then  a  prayer  is  said  for  the  dead  ; 
then  he  takes  the  chalice,  and  prays  ;  then  he  receives  rev- 
erently both  parts  of  the  host,  etc.  etc.  etc. 

The  contrast  between  the  majestic  announcement  of  Paul, 
followed  by  the  simple  and  beautiful  narrative  of  Justin 
Martyr,  and  the  perplexed  collection  of  rubrics  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  ritual,  necessary  to  the  celebration  of  the 
mass,  is  so  marked  and  so  complete,  that  if  St.  Paul's  is  the 
inspired  description  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  Justin  Mar- 
tyr's a  record  of  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist  in  the 
second  century,  the  ceremonial  in  the  Missal  must  be  a 
celebration  of  something  totally  and  altogether  different 
from  it.  The  record  in  Justin  Martyr  is  a  simple  narrative 
of  a  scriptural  Communion  Sabbath ;  but  the  narrative  in 
the  Missal  looks  like  the  exposition  of  "a  blasphemous 
fable,  and  dangerous  deceit,"  as  the  Church  of  England 
justly  denominates  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass. 

Let  me  now  consider  several  passages  of  Scripture,  usu- 
ally quoted  by  Roman  Catholics  in  defence  of  this  doctrine. 
They  quote  the  passage  in  Malachi :  "  My  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  Gentiles,  and  in  every  place  incense  shall 
be  offered  unto  my  name,  and  a  pure  offering."  This 
promise,  or  prophecy,  they  say,  refers  expressly  to  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  mass.  Now,  I  might  easily  prove,  that  it 
describes  the  offering  up  of  the  prayers  and  praises  of 
Christian  people ;  I  might  also  show,  that  the  original 
Hebrew  words  mincha  and  miktar  are  expressly  applied  to 
the  Gentiles,  who  shall  be  made  a  pure  offering  to  the 
Lord.  But  it  is  sufficient  that  I  call  upon  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic to  prove  that  the  passage  refers  at  all  to  the  mass  ;  we 
have  nothing  at  present  but  his  assertion  for  it.     Unless, 


THE    SACRIFICE    OP   THE    MASS.  375 

therefore,  he  can  show  us  that  an  apphcation  of  it  lias  been 
made  by  the  Evangehsts  or  Apostles  expressly  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  mass,  we  are  not  bound  to  believe  it  because  he 
asserts  it. 

The  Roman  Catholic  quotes  also,  in  fiivor  of  this  doc- 
trine, a  statement  in  the  13th  of  the  Acts,  where  it  is 
said  of  the  apostles  — "  As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord." 
The  original  is  ).8{tov(tyoi)itwv  di  uvtmv  ;  literally,  going 
through  the  Liturgy,  or  performing  the  service  or  worship 
of  the  Lord.  The  Roman  Catholic  disputant  contends  that 
this  denotes,  while  they  were  offering  up  the  sacrifice  of  the 
mass ;  and,  in  a  New  Testament  printed  at  Bordeaux  with 
the  approbation  and  examination  of  the  superiors,  and 
dated  1786,  the  passage  is  actually  translated  —  ''While 
they  were  offering  to  the  Lord  the  mass"  \_la  7nesse'].  But 
if  the  Roman  Catholic  will  assert  that  such  is  the  meaning 
of  the  original  word  )^izovQytm  here  used,  ke  will  find  that 
his  quotation  proves  so  much,  that  he  will  be  obliged,  in 
self-defence,  to  shrink  from  it.  The  same  word  is  used 
when  angels  are  called  "  ministering  spirits  "  —  XeizovQyixu 
mei'^ata ;  which,  therefore,  ought  to  be  translated  "  spirits 
that  offer  up  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  "  obviously  an  absurd 
rendering.  Kings,  again,  are  described  by  the  same  word, 
when  they  are  called  "  ministers  of  God  for  good "  — 
XsiTovQyoi  Seov ;  and,  accordingly,  we  ought  to  believe  that 
kings,  or  laymen,  offer  up  the  mass  —  which  again  is 
absurd.  The  passage  in  the  Acts  has,  therefore,  no  refer- 
ence to  the  Mass. 

There  is  yet  another  passage  quoted  by  Roman  Catholics 
in  favor  of  this  doctrine —  Genesis  xiv.  18,  where  it  is  said, 
that  when  Abraham  returned  from  battle,  Melchisedec  met 
him,  and  brought  forth  bread  and  wine ;  "  and  he  was  the 
priest  of  the  Most  High  God."  The  Roman  Catholic  ver- 
sion is  —  "  For  he  was  the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God." 
I  say  nothing  on  that  point,  though  I  am  perfectly  satisfied 


376  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

that  the  Protestant  translation  is  the  correct  one  ;  but, 
allowing  the  version  proposed  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  we  find  that  the  word  in  the  original  vulgate,  cor- 
responding to  our  translation  — "  He  brought  forth  bread 
and  wine,"  is  '•' protidit ;  ^'  whereas,  if  it  had  been  meant 
that  he  offered  them  up  in  sacrifice,  it  would  have  been 
"  obtulitJ*  Jerome  saw  that  it  only  meant,  that  bread  and 
wine  were  brought  forth  to  refresh  4he  weary  patriarch. 

Again :  throughout  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus, 
we  have  all  the  details  of  Christian  worship,  and  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  we  have  an  express  description  of  primitive 
Christian  Sabbaths  ;  now,  if  the  mass  had  been  known  to 
the  apostles,  or  practised  by  the  early  Christians,  or  recog- 
nized as  a  doctrine  of  the  word  of  God  taught  in  the  apos- 
tolic age,  is  it  at  all  probable,  that  these  books  would  have 
been  silent  upon  so  great  a  peculiarity  of  Christian  worship, 
that  there  should  be  no  allusion  to  those  elaborate  and  com- 
plicated rites,  which  I  have  read  to  you  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  Missal  ? 

But,  of  all  disproofs  of  the  mass,  the  most  triumphant  are 
contained  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  It  seems  to  me  as 
if  that  sublime  epistle  had  been  written  prospectively,  to 
crush  this  corrupt  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The 
great  truth  that  pervades  the  whole  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
and  gives  to  it  its  tone,  is,  that  there  is  but  one  propitiatory 
sacrifice,  once  for  all,  for  all  the  sins  that  are  past,  and  for 
all  the  sins  of  the  generations  that  are  yet  to  come  ;  a  sac- 
rifice so  complete,  that  to  profess  to  offer  up  any  other,  is 
not  only  to  make  it  void  with  respect  to  the  offering,  but  to 
offer  dishonor  to  God.  The  apostle  says  —  "They  truly 
were  many  priests,  because  they  were  not  suffered  to  con- 
tinue by  reason  of  death  ;  but  this  Man,  because  he  continu- 
eth  ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood."  In  order  to 
offer  up  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  there  must  be  a  sacrificing 
priest  —  lEQevg  (Jiiereus),  as  it  is  in  the  original;  but  the 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF   THE   MASS.  377 

apostle  says,  that  Jesus  Christ  has  "  an  unchangeable  priest- 
hood," —  literally,  a  priesthood  that  does  not  pass  from  one 
to  another.  The  original  word,  which  we  translate  "  un- 
changeable," is  aTtaQuiiaxov  ;  a  word  compounded  of  «,  neg- 
ative ;  TZana,  beside  or  beyond ;  and  ^alvw,  to  pass.  In  the 
Lexicon  of  Stephanus,  it  is  defined  thus :  "  sacerdotium 
quod  ad  alium  transire  nequit  "  —  a  priesthood  which  can- 
not pass  over  to  any  other  person.  In  the  Lexicon  of  Con- 
stantinus,  it  is  "  sacerdotium  quod  ad  alium  pra3terire  non 
potest "  —  a  priesthood  which  cannot  pass  over  to  any  other 
persons.  The  priests  of  the  Roman  Catliolic  Cliurch,  and 
the  priests  of  the  Tractarian  section  of  the  Churcli  of  Eng- 
land, declare  that  they  are  strictly  and  properly  sacrificing 
priests,  and  that  they  have  inherited  as  a  vested  right  the 
essential  and  peculiar  priesthood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
but  the  apostle  says,  that  Christ  has  an  intransferable  priest- 
hood,, that  does  not  pass  from  him ;  and  it  seems  to  me  as 
blasphemous  to  claim  the  inheritance  of  the  priesthood  of 
Christ,  as  it  would  be  to  claim  the  inheritance  of  his  omni- 
science, his  omnipresence,  his  omnipotence,  or  any  other 
essentially  Divine  attribute.  Again :  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  the  words  eq^aTta^  or  arra^,  "  once  for  all,"  are 
repeated  nine  different  times  in  connection  with  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  he  says  (vii.  27)  :  "  He 
needeth^iot  daily,  as  those  high-priests,  to  offer  up  sacrifice, 
first  for  his  own  sins,  and  then  for  the  people's ;  for  this  he 
did  ONCE,  when  he  offered  up  himself."  Again  (ix.  12)  : 
"  By  his  own  blood  he  entered  in  ONCE  into  the  holy  place." 
Again  (ix.  25,  26)  :  "  Nor  yet  that  he  should  offer  himself 
often,  as  tlie  high-priest  entereth  into-  the  holy  place  every 
year  with  the  blood  of  others ;  for  then  must  he  often  have 
suffered  since  the  foundation  of  the  world."  In  other  words, 
where  there  is  propitiatory  offering,  there,  argues  St.  Paul, 
must  be  painful  suffering ;  the  two  are  linked  together  by 
the  apostle.  If,  therefore,  the  priests  of  Rome  -offer  up 
32* 


378  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Christ  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  they  must  crucify  the  Lord 
of  Glory  afresh,  and  subject  him.  again  to  all  his  pangs,  his 
agony  and  woe.  If  they  maintain  that  there  is  no  such 
devotion  of  Christ  to  corporeal  suffering,  then  must  I  infer 
that  there  is  no  offering.  On  either  horn  of  this  dilemma,  I 
place  the  Tractarian  and  Romish  priesthood :  if  there  be 
now  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  Christ  must  suffer ;  if  there  be 
no  suffering,  there  is  no  propitiatory  sacrifice.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  apostle  says  — "  Without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  re- 
mission." In  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  mass 
is  called  "  the  unbloody  sacrifice,"  as  it  is  also  called  in  the 
celebrated  "Abridgment  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  by  Dr. 
Doyle ;  meaning,  that  it  is  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  without 
shedding  of  blood.  But  if  there  be  no  shedding  of  blood,  it 
is  not  propitiatory  for  sin ;  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is, 
on  this  admission,  vox  et  prceterea  nihil — a  sound,  and 
nothing  more.  Again :  we  read  (Hebrews  ix.  27),  "  As  it 
is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judg- 
ment, so  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of 
many  : "  as  a  man  can  only  die  once,  so  Christ  can  be 
offered  only  once.  In  the  passage  connected  with  my  text : 
"  By  the  which  will  we  are  sanctified  through  the  offering 
of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  alir  And  in  a  pre- 
ceding verse :  "  The  law  can  never,  with  those  sacrifices, 
which  they  offered  year  by  year  continually,  make  ^he  com- 
ers thereunto  perfect ;  for  then  would  they  not  have  ceased 
to  be  offered,  because  that  the  worshippers  once  purged 
should  have  had  no  more  conscience  of  sins:"  —  implying, 
that  where  there  are  many  sacrifices  day  after  day,  there 
can  be  no  permanent  purging  from  sin  ;  but  where  there  is 
one  sacrifice  once  for  all,  we  are  by  one  offering  completely 
sanctified. 

It  was  also  a  grand  peculiarity  in  the  ancient  economy, 
that  when  the  high-priest  was  within  the  holy  of  holies, 
pleading, and  interceding  before  God,  there  was  no  sacrifice 


THE   SACRIFICE   OF   THE   MASS.  379 

going  on  without.  First,  the  sacrifices  were  offered,  and  then 
the  high-priest  proceeded  into  the  holy  place  and  there  made 
intercession ;  and  while  he  was  interceding  there,  no  sacri- 
fice was  offered  without.  Now  Christ,  the  everlasting  Priest, 
has  entered  into  the  holy  place  not  made  with  hands ;  and, 
in  order  that  the  antitype  may  completely  correspond  to  the 
type,  there  must  now,  while  he  is  in  the  true  "  holy,"  be  no 
propitiatory  sacrifice  going  on  in  the  outer  court  of  the 
visible  and  professing  Church. 

There  is  not  a  single  particle  of  evidence,  throughout  the 
whole  of  Scripture,  for  the  assertion  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
and  Tractarian  party,  that  there  are  any  olFicially  sacrificing 
priests  in  the  Church.  All  Christians  are  called  priests : 
"  Ye  are  a  royal  priesthood ; "  "  He  hath  made  us  kings 
and  priests  unto  God ; "  and  as  we  are  priests,  so  we  offer 
up  spiritual  sacrifices  of  praise  and  prayer,  acceptable  to 
God  through  Jesus  Christ ;  but  the  expression  priest  is  not 
once  applied  to  a  Christian  minister  as  distinguished  from 
the  laity,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures.  And  what  is  very  remarkable,  so  guarded  were 
the  original  Reformers  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  in 
the  Rubrics  they  have  used,  not  the  Greek  word  hQEv>i 
(hiereus,)  or  the  Latin  sacerdos,  both  of  which  properly 
signify  priest^  but  they  have  used  the  Greek  word  presbu- 
teros,  which  signifies  an  elder  or  minister ;  and  it  is  this  latter 
word  which  they  use  in  every  place  where  the  Rubric  in  the 
Anglican  Prayerbook  now  has  the  word  priest.  This  last 
word  however  is  not  derived  from  lEQEvg  (sacrificing  priest), 
but  from  TtQea^vreQog  (minister)  ;  in  the  German,  prester ; 
and  in  the  English,  priest.  It  does  not  therefore  mean,  in 
the  Anglican  Prayerbook,  a  priest  in  the  sense  in  which 
the  Tractarians  and  Roman  Catholics  use  that  term. 

To  sum  up  the  argument :  Roman  Catholic  divines  main 
tain,  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  the  very  same  sacrifice 
that  was  offered  on  the  cross,  perpetuated  and  prolonged  in 


380  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

the  Christian  Church.  Now,  let  me  show  you,  that  there 
are  the  most  insuperable  difficulties  in  any  such  position.  I 
defy  the  Roman  Catholic  divine,  with  the  word  of  God  in 
his  hands,  to  prove  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is  in  any 
respect  the  same  as  the  sacrifice  that  was  offered  up  upon 
the  cross.  In  the  first  place,  the  sacrifice  completed  on  the 
cross  was  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God ;  but  in  the  sacrifice 
of  the  mass  the  Son  of  God  does  not  die,  for  Scripture  de- 
clares —  "  He  dieth  no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion 
over  him."  In  the  second  place,  the  sacrifice  on  the  cross 
was  painful ;  and  the  agony  of  the  Redeemer's  heart,  the 
intensity  of  that  sorrow  which  wrung  from  his  grieved  and 
wounded  soul  the  awful  and  mysterious  accents,  "  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? "  were  so  dreadful, 
that  language  fails  to  embody  them,  and  human  imagination 
to  conceive  them  ;  but  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  offered 
upon  the  altars  of  Rome  every  day,  there  palpably  is  no 
such  pain — the  Son  of  God  is  obviously  subjected  to  no 
such  suffering,  and  therefore  it  cannot  be  the  same  sacrifice. 
Thirdly,  the  sacrifice  on  the  cross  was  visible ;  the  eye 
beheld  the  Redeemer's  tears,  and  saw  the  drops  of  his 
blood ;  the  ear  heard  him  express  his  agonies,  and  all  the 
senses  testified  that  he  died:  but  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
sacrifice  of  the  mass,  the  eye  sees  no  Saviour  present,  the 
ear  hears  not  the  accents  of  his  voice ;  and  the  mass  cannot 
therefore  be  the  same  with  the  sacrifice  made  by  the  Son  of 
God  upon  the  cross.  Fourthly,  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  upon 
the  cross,  according  to  the  declaration  of  St.  Paul,  was 
offered  up  "  once  for  all"  —  repetition  being  declared  incom- 
patible with  its  nature  ;  but  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is 
offered  up  every  Sunday  ;  and  on  a  moderate  calculation, 
the  body  and  blood,  the  soul  and  divinity  of  our  blessed 
Lord  (according  to  Roman  Catholic  definition),  have  been 
offered  up,  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the 
dead,  aboul;  400,000,000  of  times  since  the  commencement 


THE   SACRIFICE    OP  THE   MASS.  381 

of  the  present  century.  In  the  next  place,  the  sacrifice  of 
our  blessed  Lord  was  so  complete,  and  glorious,  and  perfect, 
that  it  was  adequate  to  the  redemption  of  the  whole  world  ; 
every  suffering  was  possessed  of  infinite  virtue,  every  tear 
was  the  extinction  of  a  curse,  every  agony  was  the  ex- 
haustion of  our  guilt,  every  pain  of  his  spotless  soul  and 
holy  body  was  adequate  to  the  quenching  of  our  eternal  hell, 
and  to  the  opening  of  the  gates  of  an  everlasting  and  glori- 
ous heaven ;  but  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  is  so  feeble  and 
inefficacious,  that  it  needs  to  be  offered  up  thousands  and 
thousands  of  times  before  it  can  bring  one  single  soul  out 
of  the  sufferings  of  purgatory.  To  illustrate  this  statement 
by  a  fact :  nothing  is  more  common,  it  is  well  known,  than 
for  Roman  Catholics  on  their  death-bed  to  leave  large  sums 
of  money  wherewith  to  pay  the  officiating  priests  for  offering 
up  sacrifices  for  the  repose  of  their  departed  souls.  An  in- 
stance of  this  was  quoted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoney,  in  the 
course  of  a  discussion  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes,  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest.  Mr.  Stoney  stated,  that  masses  were  sold 
regularly  in  Ireland  for  half  a  crown.  Mr.  Hughes  replied  in 
words  involving  a  distinction,  but  not  a  denial :  "  Not  at  all 
the  half-crown  is  received  by  the  priest,  and  a  mass  is  offered 
up,  but  masses  are  not  sold  for  half  a  crown."  It  was  stated 
(and  to  this  I  wish  to  direct  your  attention),  that  a  Mr.  Bolger 
left  on  his  death-bed  his  jewellery,  silver  plate,  and  GOO/,  to 
the  Rev.  John  Roach,  to  pay  him  for  saying  masses  for  his 
soul;  altogether,  equivalent  to  about  700/.  Adopting  the 
estimate  suggested  by  Mr.  Hughes,  viz.  2*.  Qd.  per  mass, 
5,600  masses  must  be  offered  up  before  the  soul  of  Mr. 
Bolger  could  escape  from  its  torment  in  purgatory.  How 
dreadful !  Christ's  body  and  blood  must  be  sacrificed  5,600 
times,  in  order  that  one  soul  may  cease  to  suffer.  But  we 
believe  that  the  atonement  of  Christ  is  so  efficacious,  that 
once  for  all,  it  is  adequate  to  the  redemption  of  the  whole 
world,  and  needs  not  to  be  repeated ;  whereas  the  sacrifice 


382  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

of  the  mass  is  so  utterly  inefficacious,  that  for  the  deliverance 
of  a  single  soul,  and  that  not  from  hell,  but  from  purgatory, 
it  must  be  offered  up  5,600  times.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be 
the  same  as  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  upon  the  cross. 

But  some  Roman  Catholic  divines,  in  order  to  defend  this 
doctrine,  assert,  that  the  mass  —  if  not  the  same  continued 
oblation  —  is  the  repetition  of  Christ's  sacrifice  on  the  cross. 
Now,  I  answer,  that  it  cannot  be  the  repetition  of  that  sacri- 
fice, because  a  thing  once  done  cannot  be  repeated.  If  I 
strike  a  blow  upon  this  book,  I  may  strike  a  second  blow  ; 
but  I  cannot  strike  the  same  blow  over  again :  once  struck 
it  is  done.  When  a  battle  is  once  fought,  the  same  battle 
cannot  be  repeated;  you  may  fight  another  under  very 
similar  circumstances,  with  many  of  the  same  men,  upon 
somewhat  of  the  same  scale,  and  accompanied  with  the 
same  stratagems,  but  it  is  not  a  repetition  of  the  same 
battle.  The  assertion,  therefore,  that  the  sacrifice  of  the 
mass  is  a  repetition  of  the  sacrifice  on  the  cross,  carries  in 
its  bosom  its  own  clear  and  explicit  refutation. 

But  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood  tell  you,  it  is  the 
repetition  of  the  sacrifice  upon  Calvary,  but  confessedly 
without  certain  original  concomitants  of  that  awful  sacrifice 
—  for  instance,  without  the  concomitant  of  the  shedding  of 
the  blood.  Now,  this  seems  to  me  nothing  more  or  less 
than  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary  without  its  essential  and 
distinguishing  peculiarity.  What  would  you  say,  if  I  were 
to  collect  some  few  thousand  soldiers  in  some  extensive  plain 
in  England,  and  make  them  go  through  all  the  evolutions 
which  the  soldiers  under  the  illustrious  Wellington  went 
through  upon  the  plains  of  Waterloo ;  and  if  I  were  then 
gravely  to  assure  you,  that  "  this  is  truly  and  really  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  only  without  the  shedding  of  blood  that 
accompanied  it  ? "  you  would  tell  me,  that  it  might  be  a 
good  pantomime  of  that  battle,  a  pretty  mimicry  of  it,  but 
that  it  no  more  resembled  it  than  theatrical  thunder  re- 


THE    SACRIFICE    OP    THE    MASS.  383 

sembles  the  tliunder  of  the  sky.  It  is  not  the  same  thing, 
you  would  say,  and  it  can  in  no  sense  be  called  the  battle  of 
Waterloo. 

I  contend,  also,  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  cannot  be  a 
sacrament  and  a  sacrifice  at  the  same  time.  What  is  a 
sacrament  ?  It  is  something  which  we  receive  from  God. 
What  is  a  sacrifice  ?  It  is  something  which  we  offer  to  God. 
If,  then,  it  be  a  sacrament  received  from  God,  it  cannot  be 
a  sacrifice  offered  to  God ;  and  thus  the  mass  is  proved  not 
to  be  a  propitiatory  sacrifice.  Or,  on  the  other  hand,  if  it 
be  a  sacrifice,  it  cannot  be  a  sacrament ;  and  then  the  Ro- 
mim  Catholic  Church  is  destitute  of  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Both  it  cannot  be.  Let  the  Romish  Church 
take  her  choice. 

But  suppose  we  grant  for  a  moment,  that,  notwithstanding 
all  these  difficulties,  there  is  presented  every  day  upon  the 
altars  of  Rome  a  sacrificial  ceremonial,  propitiatory  for  the 
sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  The  first  question  I  feel 
bound  to  ask  is,  Wherein  does  the  sacrificial  act  lie  ?  Of  old 
it  lay  in  the  death  or  destruction  of  the  offering.  Does  the 
sacrifice  lie  in  the  breaking  of  the  wafer  or  bread  ?  They 
answer,  No.  Bread  is  not  broken  on  the  Roman  Catholic 
altar,  for  it  has  ceased  to  be  bread,  and  has  become  Christ's 
body;  and  Christ's  body  is  not  broken,  for,  on  Roman 
Catholic  principles,  it  cannot  be  broken.  Then  what  is 
broken  ?  The  Roman  Catholic  priest  answers.  Accidents  ; 
that  is,  color,  form,  shape,  size.  But  what  they  break  is 
that  which  they  sacrifice ;  and  since,  on  their  own  showing, 
they  break  accidents,  they  must  have  a  sacrifice  of  acci- 
dents, a  salvation  of  accidents,  a  heaven  of  accidents  — 
which  is  a  hell  of  terrible  realities. 

By  referring  to  the  practice  of  the  Corinthian  Church,  so 
forcibly  rebuked  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  we  see  that  this  rite 
was  not  viewed  as  a  sacrifice.  In  that  Church  some  of  the 
communicants  drank  of  the  wine  to  excess,  and  were  re- 


384  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

proved  by  the  apostle  for  this  gross  profanation  of  so  solemn 
an  ordinance.  Now,  if  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
had  been  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  offered  up  with  all  the 
lioman  Catholic  solemnities,  and  only  by  the  officiating 
priest,  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  no  such  abuse  could  possibly 
have  occurred.  Tiie  very  fact,  therefore,  that  the  Corin- 
thians abused  the  sacrament  by  partaking  of  its  wine  to 
excess,  is,  to  my  mind,  a  clear  and  decisive  evidence  that 
they  looked  upon  it  as  a  feast,  and  not  as  a  sacrifice. 

A  just  estimate  of  the  ancient  Passover,  that  beautiful 
and  expressive  type,  shows  that  it  is  a  supper,  and  not  a 
sacrifice.  The  ancient  people  of  God  were  called  upon 
first,  to  sacrifice  the  lamb,  which  was  the  painful  part  of  the 
solemnity ;  they  were  next  called  upon  to  sit  down  together 
and  feast  upon  the  roasted  lamb,  which  was  the  pleasant 
part  of  the  ceremoniaL  Now  our  blessed  Lord,  the  great 
Antitype,  illustrated  and  exhausted  in  himself  the  painful 
part,  which  was  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  an  atoning  victim 
amid  the  burning  wrath  of  God  due  to  the  sins  of  mankind ; 
and  we,  believing  in  him,  enjoy  in  every  age  the  pleasant 
part  of  the  ceremonial,  which  is  partaking  of  the  feast  upon 
or  after  the  sacrifice,  commemorating  that  perfect  atonement 
which  was  accomplished  by  our  Lord,  as  the  central  fact  of 
the  past,  and  looking  forward  to  the  day  when  he  shall  come 
again  to  be  admired  of  all  them  that  believe,  as  the  great 
glory  of  the  future. 

It  has  been  objected  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  that 
if  the  arguments  which  I  have  adduced  are  all  true,  we 
Protestants  are  destitute  of  the  grand  distinguishing  pecu- 
liarity of  Christian  worship  —  a  perpetual  sacrifice  ;  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  priest  will  twit  you  with  the  remark,  "  You 
are  no  Church,  because  you  have  no  sacrifice."  Our  reply 
to  this  is,  ^Ve  have  a  sacrifice  more  glorious  than  yours,  as 
the  infinite  is  more  magnificent  than  the  finite.  The  sacri- 
fice which  we  have,  stretched  back  to  the  ruins  and  the 


THE    SACRIFICE    OP   THE   MASS.  385 

wreck  of  Paradise,  and,  reflecting  redemption  glories  upon 
dismantled  Eden,  spoke  peace  to  Adam's  broken  heart.  It 
awoke  and  nourished  the  hopes  of  the  patriarch  Abraham  — 
and  through  its  prospective  efficacy  the  world's  grey  fathers 
anticipated  in  peace  the  joys  and  pleasures  that  are  at  God's 
right  hand ;  while  it  extends  so  surely  to  the  future,  and 
remains  for  that  future  so  ample,  that  its  efficacy  shall  not 
be  terminated,  or  its  virtue  exhausted,  until  the  last  man 
has  been  gathered  to  his  home,  and  the  mighty  purpose  for 
which  it  was  made  achieved  and  consummated.  We  are 
not  a  church  without  a  sacrifice.  We  have  a  Propitiatory 
Sacrifice  so  replete  with  virtue,  that  the  guiltiest  is  not  be- 
yond its  reach  —  that  the  greatest  sin  is  not  beyond  its 
efficacy.  In  it  there  is  atonement  ever  ample  —  ever 
near  —  ever  free  for  all.  We  have  in  that  Sacrifice  a 
righteousness  so  perfect,  that  all  the  beauties  of  earth  would 
tarnish  it  —  all  the  glories  of  heaven  would  not  add  to  it ; 
an  angel's  tear  would  stain  it,  and  a  martyr's  blood  would 
only  defile  it.  We  have  a  righteousness  so  perfect,  that, 
robed  and  arrayed  in  it,  we  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham, 
and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb. 
It  is  as  incapable  of  increase  by  our  merits  as  is  the  ocean 
by  a  tear,  or  the  noonday  glory  by  a  glowworm. 

The  Roman  Catholic  again  will  tell  you,  that  we  are  no 
Church  because  we  have  no  priest.  Let  your  answer  be, 
that  earthly  sacrificing  priests  have  no  more  business  in  the 
midst  of  the  Christian  Church,  than  a  regiment  of  soldiers 
or  a  company  of  dragoons.  These  officers  died  when  the 
economy  of  Levi  died ;  and  the  only  priests  that  are  now  to 
enter  the  Christian  pulpit  are  the  faithful  preachers  of  the 
everlasting  Gospel.  But,  in  another  sense,  a  Protestant  can 
reply  —  We  have  a  Priest:  not  a  priest  "who  cannot  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,"  but  a  priest  who 
♦'  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us."  We  have  a  High- 
Priest  who  is  present  in  every  sanctuary,  in  every  closet,  in 
33 


386  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

every  believing  heart.  We  have  "a  great  High-Priest 
which  has  passed  into  the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God." 
And  though  I  be  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  even  there  he 
can  hear  me,  as  he  heard  the  prayer  of  Jonah  from  the  fish's 
belly.  Though  I  be  driven  to  the  most  barbarous  clime, 
even  there  he  listens  to  my  petition.  Though  I  be  buried 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  in  one  of  the  deepest  coal-mines, 
even  there  I  can  see  my  Altar  and  my  Priest,  and  there,  for 
his  sake,  my  cry  is  heard.  My  altar  is  God ;  my  sacrifice 
the  propitiation  of  Christ.  Christ's  divinity  is  the  altar,  his 
humanity  the  sacrifice  offered  upon  it,  and  he  himself  is  the 
Priest  who  presents  it  before  God. 

But  the  Roman  Catholic  will  say,  that  we  Protestants 
have  no  altar,  and  therefore  are  no  church.  Our  answer  to 
this  must  be  —  We  have  an  altar.  True,  we  have  not  the 
golden  shrines  and  the  gilded  altars  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
apostasy ;  true,  we  have  not  the  candelabras,  and  the  lights, 
and  all  the  drapery  of  a  miserable  and  a  material  ceremony ; 
we  have  an  altar  in  the  Protestant  Church,  but  unquestiona- 
bly it  is  not  such  as  yours,  —  which  a  mouse  may  under- 
mine, —  which  the  hammer  may  break  in  pieces,  —  which 
the  invaders  may  remove,  and  time  must  destroy ;  but  an 
Altar,  "  of  which  they  have  no  right  to  eat  that  serve  the 
tabernacle,"  viz.  "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to- 
day, and  for  ever."  The  foundations  of  our  altar  are  the 
attributes  of  Deity;  its  cement  is  everlasting  and  living 
love ;  its  superstructure  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh ;  and 
the  glory  that  burns  and  glows  upon  it  is  made  up  of  the 
intermingling  beams  of  "mercy  and  truth  that  have  met 
together,  righteousness  and  peace  that  have  kissed  each 
other."  Herein  is  the  glory  of  our  altar :  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic priest  can  only  offer  his  sacrifice  where  there  is  a  conse- 
crated and  material  structure ;  but  our  altar  descends  to  the 
caves  of  ocean,  and  reaches  to  the  loftiest  crags  of  the 
Alpine  range ;  it  may  be  found  by  the  miner  in  the  bowels 


THE    SACRIFICE    OP   THE    MASS.  887 

of  the  earth,  by  the  sailor  on  the  bosom  of  the  boundless 
deep,  by  the  pilgrun  in  Arabian  deserts,  or  amid  African 
sands.  Wherever  there  is  a  sinner,  there  is  a  Saviour; 
wherever  there  is  a  Christian  prayer,  there  is  the  ever 
present  Priest ;  wheresoever  there  is  a  Christian  sacrifice, 
there  is  an  Altar  on  which  can  be  offered  gifts,  the  altar 
sanctifying  the  sacrifice. 

What,  then,  is  the  use  of  a  so-called  propitiatory  sacrifice 
of  the  mass  in  a  Christian  Church  ?  Is  it  to  satisfy  the 
Law  ?  The  Law  has  been  "  magnified  and  made  honora- 
ble." Is  it  to  satisfy  God  ?  God's  justice  is  satisfied ;  God's 
truth  is  satisfied;  God's  holiness  is  satisfied.  There  is, 
therefore,  no  necessity  for  any  more  propitiatory  sacrifice 
now  ;  there  is  no  obstruction  to  our  salvation  on  God's  part. 
The  secret  of  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  propitiatory 
sacrifice  of  the  mass  lies  in  the  circumstance,  that  he  be- 
lieves God  still  to  be  an  estranged  and  an  angry  God,  who 
needs  to  be  made  placable  by  a  succession  of  propitiatory 
sacrifices.  This  idea  revolts  against  the  great  first  princi- 
ples of  the  everlasting  Gospel.  All  Christianity  breathes 
forth  the  blessed  fiict,  that  we  did  not  require  Christ's  death 
to  make  God  love  us :  Christ's  death  was  the  expression^  not 
the  catise  of  that  love  which  God  bore  to  us ;  and  all  that 
was  requisite,  and  what  the  atonement  achieved,  was  a  path- 
way, broad,  full,  and  stable,  from  the  bosom  of  God  down  to 
the  depths  of  our  ruin,  along  which  God's  deep  love  might 
travel  in  perfect  consistence  with  the  demands  of  his  holi- 
ness and  truth.  That  golden  pathway  has  been  provided 
by  the  death  and  the  atonement  of  Christ;  and  that  justice 
which  protested  against  the  outgushings  of  love  without  a 
sacrifice,  and  that  holiness  which  would  not  receive  the 
guilty  to  his  bosom  without  an  atonement,  now,  in  conse- 
quence of  what  Christ  has  done  once  for  all,  form  themselves 
into  a  channel,  no  longer  to  repress  God's  love,  but  to  convey 
it  to  the  heart,  amid  the  rejoicing  acquiescence  of  ih.Q  minds 
and  consciences  of  all  that  believe. 


388  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

Suppose,  to  illustrate  this  truth,  an  inclosure  in  some 
part  of  our  world,  many  miles  in  circumference,  filled  with 
the  diseased,  the  dying,  and  the  dead.  Love,  like  an  angel 
of  mercy,  comes  down  from  the  upper  sanctuary,  and  looks 
upon  the  gigantic  inclosure,  weeping  at  the  painful  spectacle 
of  the  dying  in  all  their  stages  of  disease,  and  the  dead 
sleeping  beneath  the  shadow  of  despair.  Approaching  one 
of  the  gates.  Love  finds  a  sentinel  stationed  to  guard  it,  and 
asks  his  name ;  he  answers,  "  I  am  Truth."  Love  asks, 
"  Is  it  possible  I  may  enter  here  to  heal  the  dying,  and  bid 
the  dead  arise  ? "  Truth  replies,  "  I  have  written,  The 
soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die  ;  and  I  cannot  cancel  it."  Love 
hastens  to  another  gate,  and  finds  another  sentinel,  and  asks 
his  name  ;  and  his  answer  is,  "  I  am  Holiness."  Love  says 
"  Cannot  the  dying  be  restored,  and  the  dead  be  made  to 
live?"  Holiness  replies,  "I  can  permit  none  that  are 
impure  to  escape  from  their  congenial  residence,  and  hold 
communion  with  the  holy."  Love  goes  to  a  third  gate,  and 
finds  there  a  sentinel  whose  name  is  Justice  ;  Love  asks  the 
question,  "  Can  the  dying  be  healed  ?  can  the  dead  be 
quickened  ?  may  I  enter  to  redeem  the  one,  and  to  restore 
the  other?"  Justice  replies,  "I  have  weighed  them  in  the 
scales,  and  it  is  written  upon  them  all.  Altogether  wanting." 
Love  asks,  "  Then  what  is  to  be  done  ?  I  would  recover 
the  dying,  I  would  quicken  the  dead.  How  is  it  possible  to 
acxjomplish  it?"  Justice,  and  Truth,  and  Holiness  reply, 
"  If  an  atonement  can  be  made  adequate  to  our  demands, 
we  will  surrender  the  keys  intrusted  to  our  care ;  and  not 
only  may  the  dying  be  recovered,  and  the  dead  live,  but  we 
'will  assist  to  accomplish  it."  Love  returns  to  that  residence 
from  whence  it  came,  and  announces  the  solemn  and  faithful 
fact,  that  either  all  living  creatures  in  our  lost  world  must 
sink  into  hell  for  ever,  or  some  glorious  atonement  must  be 
made,  so  efficacious  that  all  the  attributes  of  God  shall  be 
glorified,  and  Love  enabled  to  reach  and  reclaim  the  perish- 


THE   SACRIFICE    OF   THE    MASS.  389 

ing  guilty.  The  question  is  asked,  amid  the  millions  of 
heaven  —  "  Who  will  go  for  us  ?  Who  is  prepared  to  bear 
the  curse  and  exhaust  it,  to  magnify  the  law  and  make  it 
honorable  ?  "  All  heaven  is  dumb ;  angels  are  dumb,  arch- 
angels are  dumb,  the  seraphim  that  burn  and  glow  around 
the  everlasting  Throne  are  dumb.  At  last,  "  a  still  small 
voice  "  proceeds  from  the  Throne,  as  of  a  Lamb  that  had 
been  slain,  saying,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me ;  lo,  I  come ! " 
That  Saviour  descends  to  our  world  —  assumes  our  nature 
— for  us  endures  the  curse  —  for  us  obeys  the  law  —  for  us 
takes  its  sting  from  death,  and  its  triumph  from  the  grave ; 
and  as  the  mingled  tones  of  agony  and  triumph  —  "It  is 
finished"  —  reverberate  through  the  earth  and  reach  the 
heavens.  Justice  resigns  its  keys.  Holiness  flings  open  its 
gates,  Truth  declares  all  threatenings  met  and  satisfied, 
Mercy  enters  the  inclosure  with  more  than  Gilead's  balm ; 
the  dying  are  restored,  the  departed  are  quickened,  the 
tombs  of  the  dead  become  the  tabernacles  of  the  living,  the 
wilderness  rejoices,  and  Zion's  courts  resound  "  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men." 
Here,  then,  every  obstruction  is  removed  to  the  outgushing 
of  God's  love,  and  there  is  nothing  between  the  bosom  of 
God  and  the  very  guiltiest  sinner  on  this  side  of  hell,  but 
that  sinner's  own  love  of  sin  and  unbelief  of  God's  love ; 
and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  chief  of  sinners  from 
approaching  God  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  calling  him 
"  Abba,  Father ! "  God  loves  you.  God  sent  his  son  to  die 
for  you,  to  express  that  love  ;  and,  all  that  is  required  now 
is,  that  you  will  consent  to  be  saved  in  the  way  which 
God  has  appointed  —  a  way  that  humbles  the  sinner  in  the 
dust  while  it  elevates  his  soul  to  heaven,  and  which  sur- 
rounds God  with  the  highest  glory  when  the  greatest  num- 
bers of  the  guilty  are  reclaimed  and  made  heirs  of  Paradise. 
Let  me  commend  to  you  the  argument;  let  me  press 
upon  you  to  value  more  and  more  your  own  blessed  Protes- 
33* 


390  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY 

tant  Christianity.  Let  it  devolve  upon  you  as  a  sacred 
duty,  to  make  known  your  glorious  High-Priest,  your  all- 
sufficient  and  never-to-be-repeated  Sacrifice,  your  ever  pre- 
sent Altar,  to  those  who  are  under  the  bondage  of  super- 
stition, weltering  in  Papal  darkness,  practically  "without 
Christ "  in  the  world.  Those  who  have  tasted  the  sweetness 
of  the  Gospel,  will  ever  feel  it  their  privilege  to  extend  it. 
God  makes  us  saints,  that  we  may  be  his  servants.  We 
are  made  Christians  in  order  that  we  may  be  missionaries ; 
and  this  is  the  feeling  of  every  man  who  possesses  "  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,"  not  only  in  reference  to  the 
heathen,  but  in  reference  to  all  ignorant  of  the  Gospel. 

The  mass,  and  all  the  fictions  of  the  Romish  Apostasy, 
are  doomed.  They  are  the  relic  rays  of  a  superstition 
w^hich  melts  away  beneath  the  intensity  of  that  celestial 
splendor  from  which  it  cannot  be  concealed.  The  Romish 
priest  may  chant  its  beauty,  and  the  Tractarian  prepare 
its  fringes  and  phylacteries ;  but  God  has  weighed  them  in 
the  scales  of  truth,  and  proclaimed  in  no  equivocal  accents 
their  demerit  and  destruction.  But  the  great  truths  of 
Christianity  have  come  down  to  our  world  like  the  rays  of 
a  distant  star,  neither  dimmed  nor  spent  by  their  transit 
through  time  and  space.  Already  they  are  translated  into 
almost  every  speech  of  civilized  and  barbarous  nations. 
Tliey  are  sounded  from  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
tongues,  from  the  pine  forests  of  the  North  to  the  palm 
groves  of  Eastern  Ind.  They  mingle  with  the  hum  of  the 
crowded  city,  and  with  the  chimes  of  the  desert  sea.  They 
are  the  thoughts  of  the  wise,  the  hopes  of  the  just. 

"  Salvation !  —  oh !  salvation ! 

The  joyful  sound  proclaim, 
Till  earth's  remotest  nation 

Has  heard  Messiah's  name; 
Till  o'er  our  ransomed  nature 

The  Lamp  for  sinners  slMn  — 
Redeemer,  King,  Creator  — 

In  bliss  retui-ns  to  rei£m !  " 


LECTURE  "XIV. 

PURGATORY. 

I  CANNOT  find,  in  the  whole  compass  of  Scripture,  a 
more  decided  refutation  of  the  unscriptural  heresy  that  has 
been  recently  broached  by  the  Tractarians  of  Oxford  —  that 
sins  before  baptism  are  cancelled  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  but 
that  sins  after  baptism  must  be  expiated  by  various  peni- 
tential processes, — than  these  words,  "The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin,"  1  John  i.  7, 
which  I  now  read  in  your  hearing.  You  will  observe,  that 
they  are  declared  to  apply,  not  merely  to  those  who  are 
nnbaptized,  but  to  those  who  are  baptized  ;  nay,  it  presup- 
poses, that  the  parties  to  whom  it  is  specially  applicable,  are 
parties  "  walking  in  the  light,"  —  making  a  profession  of  the 
Gospel  —  members  of  the  visible  church.  The  commence- 
ment of  the  verse  is  —  "  If  we  walk  in  the  liglit,  as  he  is  in 
the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another  ;"  and  under 
such  circumstances,  (though  not  restricted  to  such  circum- 
stances,) "  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all 
sin."  This  great  truth  needs  to  be  impressed  upon  the 
whole  visible  church  in  the  present  age  —  that  there  is  no 
purgatory  for  the  infant  that  has  opened  its  eyes  upon  a 
marred  and  dismantled  world,  but  the  blood  of  Jesus ;  that 
there  is  no  purgatory  for  the  youth  amid  all  the  buoyancy 
of  unfolding  years,  stirred  by  strong  passions  and  surrounded 
by  syren  temptations,  but  the  blood  of  Jesus  ;  and  that  in 
the  hour  of  death,  and  at  the  day  of  judgment,  there  is  no 
plea  that  the  guilty  can  present  before  God,  no  foundation 


392  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

on  which  faith  and  hope  can  lean,  but  this  precious  and  all- 
sufficient  announcement  — "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ, 
God's  Son,  cleansetli  us  from  all  sin." 

You  are  aware,  that  the  doctrine  on  which  I  have  to  com- 
ment this  evening,  is  that  which  is  commonly  known  by  the 
name  —  Purgatory.  There  is,  I  take  leave  to  observe,  not 
only  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  a  Protestant  purgatory  also. 
The  Roman  Catholic  purgatory  I  shall  proceed  to  define, 
and  to  illustrate  from  their  own  undoubted  and  authorized 
documents  ;  .the  Protestant  purgatory  is  announced  in  my 
text  —  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son,  cleanseth," 
or  purgeth,  or  acts  as  a  purgatory  "  from  all  sin."  Luther, 
before  he  was  enlightened  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel, 
looked  forward  with  fear  to  the  purgatory  which  is  defined 
by  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  illustrated  in  the  histories  of 
the  Church  of  Rome ;  but  the  moment  that  great-hearted 
man  came  to  be  acquainted  with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
the  Spirit  of  God  shining  into  his  understanding,  and 
enabling  him  savingly  to  comprehend  those  truths  —  that 
moment  Luther  abandoned  the  Popish  purgatory,  and  kept 
fast  by  the  precious  provision  of  the  everlasting  Gospel  — 
"  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son,  cleanseth  from  all 
sin." 

In  the  conversations  of  Luther,  which  are  in  some  meas- 
ure a  posthumous  publication,  we  read,  that  on  one  occasion, 
when  the  monk  was  beginning  to  awaken  from  the  stupor 
and  the  superstitions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion, 
and  to  feel,  or  rather  to  grope  his  way,  amid  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel  and  the  revelations  of  Scripture,  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  as  the  only  Saviour,  Satan,  either  in  reality 
or  in  a  dream,  appeared  in  the  depth  of  the  night,  and 
addressed  him  in  the  following  terms :  "  Luther,  how  dare 
you  pretend  to  be  a  reformer  of  the  Church  ?  Luther,  let 
your  memory  do  its  duty  — let  your  conscience  do  its  duty  : 
you  have  committed  this  sin  —  you  have  been  guilty  of  that 


PURGATORY.  393 

sin ;  you  have  omitted  this  duty,  and  you  have  neglected 
that  duty :  let  your  reform  begin  in  your  own  bosom.  How- 
dare  you  attempt  to  be  a  reformer  of  the  Church  ?  "  Luther, 
with  the  self-possession  and  magnanimity  by  which  he  was 
characterized,  (whether  it  was  a  dream  or  a  reality,  he  him- 
self professes  not  to  decide,)  said  to  Satan  —  "  Take  up  the 
slate  that  lies  on  the  table,  and  write  down  all  the  sins  with 
which  you  have  now  charged  me;  and,  if  there  be  any 
additional,  append  them  too."  Satan,  rejoiced  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  accusing,  just  as  our  blessed  Lord  is  rejoiced 
to  have  the  opportunity  of  advocating,  took  up  a  pencil,  and 
wrote  a  long  and  painful  roll  of  the  real  or  imputed  sins  of 
Luther.  Luther  said,  "Have  you  written  the  whole?" 
Satan  answered,  "  Yes,  and  a  black  and  dark  catalogue  it 
is,  and  sufficient  to  deter  you  from  making  any  attempt  to 
reform  others,  till  you  have  first  purified  and  reformed 
yourself."  Luther  replied,  "  Take  up  the  slate,  and  write 
as  I  shall  dictate  to  you.  My  sins  are  many ;  my  trans- 
gressions in  the  sight  of  an  infinitely  holy  God,  are  count- 
less as  the  hairs  of  my  head :  in  me  there  dwelleth  no  good 
thing;  but,  Satan,  after  the  last  sin  you  have  recorded, 
write  the  tmnouncement  which  I  shall  repeat  from  1  John, 
i.  7  ;  *  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son,  cleanseth  from 
ALL  sin.' "  Luther  in  that  text  had  peace ;  and  Satan, 
knowing  the  source  of  his  peace,  had  no  advantage  against 
him. 

Without  entering  more  fully  on  the  vast  and  varied  range 
of  Christian  truth  that  seems  to  me  to  be  comprehended  in 
my  text,  I  will  endeavor,  first  of  all,  to  lay  before  you  the 
definition  and  description  of  Purgatory,  as  it  is  embodied  in 
the  standards  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  the  creed 
of  Pope  Pius  IV.  the  following  definition  is  given :  "  I  con- 
stantly hold  that  there  is  a  purgatory,  and  that  the  souls 
therein  detained  are  helped  by  the  sufii-ages  of  tlie  faithful." 
In  the  twenty-fifth  session  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  there  is 


394  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

this  decree  on  purgatory :  "  There  is  a  purgatory,  and  the 
souls  therein  detained  are  helped  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
faithful,  but  most  chiefly  by  the  acceptable  sacrifice  of  the 
altar,"  —  that  is,  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  of  the  mass. 
And  in  the  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  which  every 
priest  is  instructed  to  teach  his  flock,  the  following  words 
occur :  "  Besides,  there  is  a  purgatorial  fire,  in  which  the 
souls  of  the  pious  being  tormented  \_cruciatce~\  for  a  definite 
period,  are  expiated,  in  order  that  an  entrance  may  be 
opened  for  them  into  the  eternal  country,  into  which  nothing 
polluted  enters." 

Such  is  the  definition  of  Purgatory ;  it  is  a  place  of  suffering 
and  of  purification  between  death  and  the  day  of  Judgment, 
wherein  souls  that  die  with  the  guilt  of  venial  sin  not  yet 
fully  expiated,  are  detained  and  tormented  in  fire  until  they 
are  purified  and  made  meet  for  the  abodes  of  the  redeemed 
and  the  glorified.  It  is  not  for  those  who  die  (as  we  should 
say)  unbelievers  and  enemies  to  God;  it  is  for  the  faithful 
and  the  pious  —  those  whom  we  should  call  saints ;  those 
that  the  Romish  Church  has  reason  to  believe  are  really  and 
truly  Christians.  And  thus  the  painful  thought  must  flash 
upon  the  mind  of  every  Roman  Catholic,  that,  however 
his  past  and  present  conduct  may  be  characterized  by  all 
the  "  fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  yet  when  he  dies,  he  does  not 
pass  immediately  to  the  presence  of  God,  but  goes  to  a 
place  of  purgatorial  suflTering,  in  which  he  is  tormented  and 
purified,  until  he  is  made  meet  for  the  mansions  of  heaven. 
Let  this,  therefore,  be  clearly  understood,  —  that  purgatory 
is  not  for  sinners,  who  die  in  what  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  calls  mortal  sin  ;  it  is  not  for  those  w^ho  die  rejecting 
and  despising  the  Gospel :  but  it  is  for  those  who  have  been 
the  most  faithful,  the  most  devoted,  the  most  signalized,  in 
the  estimate  of  the  Romish  Church,  by  the  distinctive  graces 
of  Christianity,  and  applauded  by  the  most  competent 
judges  of  those  who  are  in  close  communion  with  God. 


PURGATORY.  395 

The  origin  and  necessity  of  purgatory  arise  from  the  dis- 
tinction that  subsists  in  the  judgment  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  between  venial  and  mortal  sin.  A  venial  sin,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Doyle,  in  the  Catechism  taught  to  Roman 
Catholics  in  Ireland,  "  is  a  sin  which  does  not  break  charity 
between  man  and  man,  much  less  between  man  and  God,  — - 
such  as  the  stealing  of  an  apple,  a  pin,"  etc.  Or,  as  it  is  in 
the  "  Abridgment  of  Christian  Doctrine :  "  "  Q.  Whither  go 
such  as  die  in  mortal  sin  ?  "  —  "  A.  To  hell  for  all  eternity, 
as  you  have  heard  in  the  Creed."  "  Q.  Whither  go  such  as 
die  in  venial  sin,  or  not  having  fully  satisfied  for  the  tempo- 
ral punishments  due  to  their  mortal  sins,  which  are  forgiven 
them  ?  "  —  "^.  To  purgatory,  till  they  have  made  full  satis- 
faction for  them,  and  then  to  heaven."  "  Q.  By  what  kind 
of  sins  are  the  commandments  broken?"  —  "^.  By  mortal 
sins  only :  for  venial  sins  are  not,  strictly  speaking,  contrary 
to  *  the  end  of  the  commandments,  which  is  charity.' "  "  Q, 
When  is  a  theft  a  mortal  sin  ?  "  —  "  A.  When  the  thing 
stolen  is  of  considerable  value,  or  causeth  a  considerahle  hurt 
to  our  neighbor."  "  Q.  AVhen  is  a  lie  a  mortal  sin  ?  "  —  "  A, 
When  it  is  any  great  dishonor  to  God,  or  notable  prejudice 
to  our  neighbor." 

Strange  questions,  and  strange  replies,  in  the  judgment  of 
an  enlightened  and  Bible-taught  Christian.  But  to  show 
you  still  further  the  distinction  between  venial  and  mortal 
sins  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  I  will  read  an  extract  from  a 
celebrated  work  of  Dr.  Bailly,  which  is  taught  to  the  priests 
who  are  trained  in  the  Roman  Catholic  college  of  St.  Patrick 
in  Maynooth,  and  prepared  for  the  discharge  of  their  duty 
in  the  Romish  parishes  in  which  they  may  be  placed  as 
priests.  We  have,  in  this  extract,  the  doctrines  that  are  in- 
culcated upon  the  minds  of  the  rising  priesthood  ;  and  we 
may  regard  this  as  an  exposition  of  the  principles  acted  on 
in  the  confessional  by  every  Roman  Catholic  priest  in  Ire- 
land.    I  quote  from  chapter  vii.  p.  232,  where  a  question  is 


396  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

asked,  strangely  at  variance  with  our  ideas  ;  for  we  are  all 
taught,  that  whether  a  farthing  or  a  pound  be  stolen,  it  is 
equally  a  violation  of  God's  commandment ;  nay,  that  the 
theft  of  a  small  thing  may  be  a  greater  sin  in  the  sight  of 
God,  because  the  temptation  is  less.  "  Q.  How  great  must 
be  the  quantity  of  the  thing  stolen,  in  order  to  constitute  the 
theft  a  mortal  sin  ?  "  —  "  A.  The  quantity  cannot  easily  be 
determined  "  —  [such  is  the  reply  of  a  Church  in  which  all 
things  are  represented  to  be  certain,  stereotyped,  and  fixed ; 
where  all  is  lucid  as  the  light  of  meridian  day,  and  certain 
as  the  landmarks  of  creation]  —  "  the  quantity  cannot  easily 
be  determined,  since  nothing  has  been  decided  on  this  point, 
either  in  natural,  divine,  or  human  law.  Some  are  of  opinion 
that  a  quantity  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  an  individ- 
ual for  one  day,  in  a  manner  suitable  to  his  station  in  this 
world,  is  sufficient  to  make  the  theft  a  mortal  sin ;  others 
think  that  it  requires  a  quantity  which,  every  thing  con- 
sidered, inflicts  a  grievous  injury  on  our  neighbor,  and  de- 
prives him  of  something  particularly  useful.  A  loss,  how- 
ever, which,  in  respect  of  one  —  a  rich  man,  for  instance  is 
slight,  in  respect  of  a  poor  man  may  be  considered  heavy. 
Hence,  theologians  are  accustomed  to  distinguish  men  into 
four  ranks.  The  first  rank  consists  of  the  illustrious,  who 
live  in  splendor  ;  the  second,  of  those  who  live  on  their  own 
estates,  but  not  so  splendidly — such  as  are  moderately 
rich ;  the  third,  of  artificers,  who  support  themselves  by 
their  own  handicraft  and  labor ;  and  the  fourth,  of  the  poor, 
who  provide  for  themselves  by  begging.  It  is  generally  laid 
down,  and  you  (the  priests)  may  lay  it  down  as  determined, 
that  in  order  that  a  theft  should  he  a  mortal  sin,  when  com- 
mitted on  persons  of  the  first  rank,  fifty  or  sixty  pence  are 
sufficient."  So  that,  if  from  the  Queen,  or  any  of  our  illus- 
trious nobility,  you  should  steal  sixty  pence,  if  you  die  with 
that  sin  unforgiven,  you  go  to  hell  to  all  eternity  ;  but  if  you 
so  manage  matters  as  to  steal  only  fifty-nine  pence  and  three 


PURGATORY.  397 

ftirthings,  then  you  can  only  be  sent  to  purgatory,  for  puri- 
fication in  its  fires,  until  the  Day  of  Judgment.  He  goes  on 
to  say,  that  with  respect  to  persons  in  the  second  class,  forty 
pence  are  enough  to  constitute  a  mortal  sin ;  and  with  re- 
spect to  persons  in  the  third  rank,  twenty  pence,  "  if  their 
trade  be  a  very  lucrative  one  ;  if  less  lucrative,  ten  pence." 
So  that  servants  are  to  be  encouraged  to  find  out  whether 
their  master's  trade  is  a  lucrative  one,  and  to  get  rich  and 
escape  the  punishment  of  hell  by  stealing  thirty-nine  pence 
per  day,  which  is  only  a  venial  sin,  and  dooming  the  trans- 
gressor only  to  purgatory. 

Again :  at  page  237,  the  question  is  discussed,  "  Whether 
wives  commit  a  mortal  sin  of  theft,  if,  contrary  to  the 
reasonable  wishes  of  their  husbands,  they  secretly  take  any 
thing  considerable  from  the  property  which  is  under  the 
power  of  their  husbands."  And  the  answer  is  —  "They 
commit  a  mortal  sin  of  theft,  because  they  greatly  injure 
the  just  right  of  the  husband.  But  what  quantity  ought  to 
be  accounted  considerahU  in  these  thefts,  cannot  easily  be 
determined ;  this  one  thing  is  certain,  —  that  a  greater  quan- 
tity is  required  in  thefts  committed  by  a  wife,  or  a  son,  than 
in  thefts  committed  by  strangers,  because  a  husband,  or  the 
father  of  a  family,  is  more  unwilling  that  money  should  be 
taken  by  a  stranger  than  by  a  wife  or  a  son." 

At  page  239,  we  read  —  "  What  is  to  be  thought  of  ser- 
vants who  pilfer  any  thing  from  their  masters  ?  "  "^.  That 
they  sin  mortally,  if  they  pilfer  a  considerable  quantity; 
venially,  if  they  pilfer  a  small  quantity.  But  if  they  steal 
money,  furniture,  or  such  things,  the  same  quantity  is  re- 
quired to  constitute  a  mortal  sin  as  if  they  were  strangers." 
And  then  follows  a  \Qvy  remarkable  provision,  which  must 
have  been  specially  applicable  in  the  dark  ages,  when  the 
Church  of  Rome  had  wide  spread  and  unbounded  wealth 
and  possession :  "  Servants  sin  mortally,  if  they  plunder  for 
the  purpose  of  carousing,  or  in  order  to  sell,  or  give  away 
34 


398  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

to  others,  or  if  they  should  make  use  of  dainties  and  choice 
wines,  which  the  master  wishes  to  reserve  for  himself,  and 
which  are  not  usually  allowed  to  servants." 

You  ask,  How  does  this  bear  upon  the  question  that  is 
immediately  before  us  ?  It  bears  most  vitally  upon  it. 
Purgatory  is  only  for  venial  sins ;  hell  is  for  mortal  sins : 
every  Roman  Catholic,  therefore,  is  interested  —  on  his  own 
principles  everlastingly  interested  —  in  the  question,  whether 
the  sins  of  which  he  is  guilty  are  to  be  regarded  as  venial 
sins,  to  be  expiated  in  purgatory  —  for  emancipation  from 
which  a  legacy  will  provide  masses  —  or  as  mortal  sins,  to 
be  visited  with  the  wrath  of  Heaven  through  all  eternity. 
And  not  only  the  people,  but  the  priests  are  interested  in 
the  solution  of  this  question ;  for  they  have  to  sit  in  a  box, 
called  the  confessional,  and  every  person,  from  ten  or  twelve 
years  upwards,  must  approach  that  spot  at  least  once  a  year, 
and  breathe  into  the  priest's  ear  every  thought  that  has 
passed  through  his  heart,  every  sentiment  that  has  been 
entertained  in  his  mind,  every  word  he  has  spoken  since  he 
last  confessed,  of  a  sinful  or  a  questionable  kind.  Every 
action  which  he  can  at  all  suspect  to  have  been  tainted  with 
iniquity,  he  must  fully  and  faithfully  confess,  under  the 
menaced  guilt  of  sinning  against  the  Holy  Ghost  —  the  un- 
pardonable sin ;  and  when  the  priest  has  heard  the  confes- 
sion, it  is  most  important  that  he  should  be  able  to  deter- 
mine whether  a  sin  is  mortal  or  venial,  that  he  may  appor- 
tion the  proper  expiatory  process,  and  minister,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  consolation  that  belongs  to  a  venial  transgressor, 
and  point  out,  on  the  other,  the  means  of  forgiveness  and 
expiation  for  a  mortal  sinner.  You  will  also  see,  thalfif  the 
distinction  of  venial  and  mortal  sin  is  an  untenable  doc- 
trine, the  pretensions  of  Purgatory  are  dissipated,  and, 
being  shorn  of  its  foundation,  it  must  necessarily  fall  to  the 
ground. 

Before,  however,  I  proceed  further,  I  shall  endeavor  to 


PURGATORY.  399 

give  you  some  illustrations  of  the  belief  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  respecting  the  nature  of  the  sufferings  of  those  who 
are  confined  in  purgatory.  AVith.  this  view,  1  shall  quote 
from  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Bellarmine  —  the  most  distin- 
guished champion  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith ;  from  whose 
large  and  massive  and  learned  folios,  all  the  controversial 
arguments  of  modern  Roman  Catholic  priests  are  usually 
derived.  Cardinal  Bellarmine,  in  his  work  JOe  Gemitu 
GolumbcB,  book  ii.  chapter  9,  gives  the  following  account  of 
persons  whom  he  knew  to  be  in  purgatory,  and  whose  suffer- 
ings, tlierefbre,  he  is  fully  competent  to  narrate ;  and  it  is 
important  that  Roman  Catholics,  if  I  address  any  to-night, 
should  know  what  is  before  them  in  purgatory,  if  they  still 
cleave  to  their  superstition ;  whilst  it  is  important  also,  that 
Protestants  should  understand  what  are  the  prospects  of  a 
Church,  which  tramples  upon  the  blood  of  the  Everlasting 
Covenant,  and  puts  in  its  place  the  devices  of  man. 

"  Since  many  persons,"  says  Bellarmine,  "  ^\\\\  not  believe 
what  they  have  never  seen,  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God 
sometimes  to  raise  his  servants  from  the  dead,  and  to  send 
them  to  announce  to  the  living  what  they  have  really  be- 
held. A  pious  father  *i)f  a  family  in  Northumberland  died, 
after  a  long  illness,  in  the  early  part  of  one  night,  but,  to 
the  great  terror  of  those  who  watched  by  his  body,  came  to 
life  again  at  tha  dawn  of  the  following  day.  All  but  his 
faithful  and  affectionate  wife  fled  at  the  sight  of  him,  and  to 
her  he  communicated,  in  the  most  soothing  terms,  the  pecu- 
liar circumstances  of  his  case ;  that  he  had  indeed  been  dead, 
but  was  permitted  to  live  again  upon  earth,  though  by  no 
means  in  the  same  manner  as  before.  In  short,  he  sold  all 
his  property  —  divided  the  produce  equally  between  his 
wife,  his  children,  and  the  poor — and  then  retired  to  the 
Abbey  of  Melrose ;  he  there  lived  in  such  a  state  of  unex- 
ampled mortification,  as  made  it  quite  evident,  even  if  he 
had  not  said  a  word  on  the  subject,  that  he  had  seen  things, 


400  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

whatever  was  the  nature  of  them,  which  no  one  else  had 
been  permitted  to  behold.  '  One,'  said  the  old  man,  '  whose 
aspect  was  as  of  light,  and  his  garment  glistening,  conducted 
me  to  a  valley  of  great  depth  and  width,  but  of  immeasu- 
rable length ;  one  side  of  which  was  dreadful  beyond  expres- 
sion for  its  burning  heat,  and  the  other  as  horrible  for  its  no 
less  intolerable  cold.  Both  were  filled  with  souls  of  men, 
which  seemed  to  be  tossed,  as  by  the  fury  of  the  tempest, 
from  one  side  to  the  other ;  for,  being  quite  unable  to  endure 
the  heat  on  the  right  hand,  the  miserable  wretches  kept 
throwing  themselves  to  the  opposite  side  into  the  equal  tor- 
ment of  cold,  and  thence  back  again  into  the  raging  flames. 
This,  thought  I  to  myself,  must  be  hell ;  but  my  guide 
answered  to  my  thought,  that  it  was  not  so.  This  valley, 
says  he,  is  the  place  of  torment  for  the  souls  of  those  who, 
after  delaying  to  confess  and  expiate  their  sins,  have  at 
length,  in  articuh  mortis,  had  recourse  to  penance,  and  so 
have  died ;  these,  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  will  be  admitted 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  by  reason  of  their  confession 
and  penance,  late  as  it  was ;  but,  meanwhile,  many  of  them 
may  be  assisted  and  liberated  before  that  day,  by  the 
prayers,  alms,  and  fastings  of  the  li'stng,  particularly  by  the 
sacrifice  of  the  mass.' " 

This  is  the  first  instance  which  the  Cardinal  gives ;  he 
then  quotes  another  extraordinary  story,  narrated  of  St. 
Christina,  whose  life  w^as  published  by  "  an  author  of  high 
repute,  Thomas  Cantepratensis,  who  was  contemporary  with 
the  saint;  confirmed,  too,  by  the  testimony  of  the  learned 
Cardinal  James  de  Vitriaco,  in  the  preface  to  his  book  of  the 
Life  and  Acts  of  St.  Mary  de  Oegnies."  St.  Christina  has 
her  place  in  the  Roman  Calendar,  and  a  festival  is  appointed 
to  her  honor  on  the  23d  of  July.  The  following  are  stated 
to  be  the  words  spoken  by  her,  immediately  after  her  return 
to  life,  in  the  presence  of  many  witnesses :  "  Immediately  as 
I  departed  from  the  body,  my  soul  was  received  by  minis- 


PURGATORY.  401 

• 

ters  of  light  and  angels  of  God,  and  conducted  to  a  dark  and 
horrid  place,  filled  with  the  souls  of  men.  The  torments 
which  I  there  witnessed  are  so  dreadful,  that  to  attempt  to 
describe  them  would  be  utterly  in  vain  ;  and  there  I  beheld 
not  a  few,  who  had  been  known  to  me  while  they  were 
alive.  Greatly  concerned  for  their  hapless  state,  I  asked 
what  place  it  was,  thinking  it  was  hell ;  but  I  was  told  that 
it  was  purgatory,  where  are  kept  those  who  in  their  life  had 
repented  indeed  of  their  sins,  but  had  not  paid  the  punish- 
ment due  for  them.  I  was  next  taken  to  see  the  torments 
of  hell,  where  also  I  recognized  some  of  my  former  ac- 
quaintances upon  earth.  Afterwards  I  was  translated  to 
paradise,  even  to  the  throne  of-  the  Divine  Majesty ;  and 
when  I  saw  the  Lord  congratulating  me,  I  was  beyond 
measure  rejoiced,  concluding,  of  course,  that  I  should  hence- 
forward dwell  with  him  for  evermore.  But  he  presently 
said  to  me  —  'In  very  deed,  my  sweetest  daughter,  here 
you  shall  be  with  me ;  but,  for  the  present,  I  offer  you  your 
choice.  Will  you  stay  for  ever  with  me  now  ?  or  will  you 
return  to  the  earth,  and  there  in  your  mortal  body,  but  with- 
out any  detriment  to  it,  endure  punishments,  by  which  you 
may  deliver  out  of  purgatory  all  those  souls  whom  you  so 
much  pitied,  and  may  also,  by  the  sight  of  your  penance  and 
the  example  of  your  life,  be  a  means  of  converting  to  me 
some  who  are  yet  alive  in  the  body ;  and  so  come  again  to 
me  at  last,  with  a  great  increase  of  your  merits  ?*  I  ac- 
cepted, without  hesitation,  the  return  to  life,  on  the  condition 
proposed ;  and  the  Lord,  congratulating  me  on  the  prompti- 
tude of  my  obedience,  ordered  that  my  body  should  bo 
restored  to  me.  And  here  I  had  an  opportunity  of  admiring 
the  incredible  celerity  of  the  blessed  spirits;  for  in  that 
very  hour,  having  been  placed  before  the  throne  of  God  at 
the  first  recital  of  the  Agnus  Dei  in  the  mass  which  was 
said  for  me,  at  the  third  my  body  was  restored.  This  is  an 
account  of  my  death,  and  return  to  life."  The  author  of 
34* 


402  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

her  Life  then  narrates,  that  "  she  walked  mto  burning  ovens, 
and  though  she  w^as  so  tortured  by  the  flames  that  her 
angjish  extorted  from  her  the  most  horrible  cries,  yet, 
when  she  came  out,  there  was  not  a  trace  of  any  burning  to 
be  detected  on  her  body.  Again,  during  a  hard  frost,  she 
would  go  and  place  herself  under  the  frozen  surface  of  a 
river,  for  six  days  and  more  at  a  time.  Sometimes  she 
would  be  carried  round  by  the  wheel  of  a  water-mill  with 
the  water  of  the  river,  and  having  been  whirled  round  in  a 
horrible  manner,  she  was  as  whole  in  body  as  if  nothing  had 
happened  to  her  —  not  a  limb  was  hurt.  At  other  times 
she  would  make  all  the  dogs  in  the  town  fall  upon  her,  and 
w^ould  run  before  them  like  a  hunted  beast ;  and  yet,  in 
spite  of  being  torn  by  thorns  and  brambles,  and  worried  and 
lacerated  by  the  dogs,  to  such  a  degree  that  no  part  of  her 
body  escaped  without  wounds,  there  was  not  a  weal  nor  scar 
to  be  seen."  "  Such,"  says  the  illustrious  and  learned  Cardi- 
nal Bellarmine,  of  whose  genius  and  erudition  (apart  from 
his  moral  and  religious  principles)  any  church  might  be 
glad  —  "such  is  the  narrative  of  Thomas  Cantepratensis : 
and  that  he  said  nothing  but  the  truth  is  evident,  not  only 
from  the  confirmation  given  to  his  testimony  by  the  Bishop 
and  Cardinal  De  Vitriaco,  and  from  his  only  telling  what 
happened  in  the  very  province  in  which  he  was  a  bishop, 
but  because  the  thing  spoke  for  itself.  It  was  quite  plain 
that  the  body  must  have  been  endued  with  a  divine  virtue, 
which  could  endure  all  that  hers  endured,  without  being 
damaged;  and  this,  not  for  a  few  days,  but  for  forty-two 
years,  during  which  she  continued  alive  after  her  resurrec- 
tion. But  still  more  manifest  does  this  become,  from  the 
many  sinners  whom  she  brought  to  penitence,  and  from  the 
miracles,  after  her  death,  by  which  she  was  distinguished  ; 
for  God  determined  to  stop  the  mouth  of  unbelievers." 

One  more  instance  is  given  by  the  Cardinal,  as  a  proof 
of  the  possible  duration  of  the  pains  of  purgatory,  even  to 


PURGATORY.  403 

the  Day  of  Judgment.  He  quotes  from  the  life  of  St.  Lud- 
gardis,  written  by  the  same  author  as  that  of  iSt.  Chris- 
tina: "About  this  time,  Pope  Innocent  III.,  after  having 
held  the  Lateran  Council,  departed  out  of  this  life,  and 
shortly  afterwards  appeared  to  Ludgardis.  She,  as  soon  as 
she  beheld  him  encircled  with  a  vast  flame,  demanded  who 
he  was ;  and  on  his  answering  that  he  was  Pope  Innocent, 
exclaimed  with  a  groan,  *  What  can  this  be  ?  how  is  it  that 
the  common  father  of  us  all  is  thus  tormented?'  'The 
reasons  of  my  suffering  thus,'  he  answered,  *  are  three  in 
number ;  and  they  would  have  consigned  me  to  eternal  pun- 
ishments, had  I  not,  through  the  intercession  of  the  most 
pious  mother  of  God,  to  whom  I  founded  a  monastery,  re- 
pented, when  in  extremis.  As  it  is,  though  I  am  spared 
eternal  suffering,  yet  I  shall  be  tortured  in  the  most  horrible 
manner  to  the  Day  of  Judgment ;  and  that  I  am  now  per- 
mitted to  come  and  pray  for  your  suffrages,  is  a  boon,  which 
the  mother  of  mercies  has  obtained  for  me  from  her  Son.' 
With  these  words  he  disappeared.  Ludgardis  not  only  com- 
municated to  her  holy  sisters  the  sad  necessity  to  which  the 
Pope  was  reduced  in  order  to  obtain  their  succor,  but  she 
also,  herself,  submitted  to  astonishing  torments  on  his  ac- 
count." And  the  author  adds,  "The  reader  must  under- 
stand, that  Ludgardis  herself  revealed  to  me  the  three 
causes  of  the  Pope's  sufferings ;  but  I  forbear  to  disclose 
them,  out  of  reverence  to  so  great  a  pontiff."  "This 
instance,"  says  Cardinal  Bellarmine,  "always  affects  me 
with  the  greatest  terror.  For  if  a  pontiff  entitled  to  so 
much  praise,  one  who  to  all  human  observation  was  not 
merely  a  man  of  integrity  and  prudence,  but  of  eminent, 
nay,  most  exemplary  sanctity  —  if  even  he  so  narrowly 
escaped  hell,  and,  as  it  is,  must  suffer  the  most  excruciating 
torments  till  the  Day  of  Judgment  —  what  prelate  is  there, 
who  does  not  tremble  ?  Who  does  not  scrutinize  the  secrets 
of  his  own  conscience  with  the  most  unsparing  rigor  ?     For 


404  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

I  cannot  easily  persuade  myself,  that  so  great  a  pontiff 
could  have  been  capable  of  committing  deadly  sins,  unless 
he  were  deceived,  under  some  semblance  of  good,  by  flat- 
terers and  relatives,  of  whom  the  Gospel  says,  *a  man's 
foes  shall  be  of  his  own  household.' " 

I  have  thus  given  you  instances  illustrative  of  the  nature 
and  duration  of  the  torments  of  purgatory,  drawn  from 
sources  so  grave  and  weighty  that  no  Roman  Catholic  can 
possibly  doubt  them.  And  now,  as  I  have  good  reason  to 
know  that  I  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  addressing  many  of  my 
Koman  Catholic  fellow-countrymen  on  this  occasion,  I  place 
before  them  the  prospects  that  must  overshadow  their  de- 
parting moments,  and  the  horrible  doom  which  the  best  and 
most  faithful  of  their  communion  are  destined  to  experience 
—  if  their  creed  be  not  a  fable  —  if  their  faith  be  not  delu- 
sion —  before  the  Day  of  Judgment  overtakes  the  world.  I 
ask  you,  How  can  you,  with  so  horrible  a  prospect,  depart 
in  peace  ?  How  can  you  feel  that  the  Gospel  preached  to 
you  is  good  tidings  at  all  ?  My  dear  hearers,  contrast  the 
dying  saint  in  the  communion  of  the  Protestant  Church,  and 
the  words  his  minister  can  address  to  him,  with  the  dying 
faithful  in  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
the  words  that  the  priest  must,  if  honest  and  consistent, 
address  to  him.  In  your  Church,  if  you  were  one  of  the 
most  faithful  and  consistent  on  whom  the  sun  ever  shone, 
when  your  last  moment  draws  near,  and  the  manifested  con- 
solations of  the  Gospel  ought  to  be  richest  and  fullest,  your 
priest  must  tell  you,  if  he  speak  what  he  believes,  in  that 
awful  crisis,  "  Unhappy  are  the  dying  and  the  dead ;  for 
they  enter  into  purgatory,  and  endure  its  torments,  until 
masses  have  been  offered  up  adequate  to  the  redemption  of 
the  soul  from  its  apportioned  sorrow."  But  when  the  Pro- 
testant minister  goes  to  the  death-bed  of  a  departing  believer, 
he,  in  Heaven's  tones  of  exquisite  melody,  because  of  ex- 
haustless  comfort,  can  lift  up  his  voice  in  the  ear  of  the 


PURGATORY.  405 

departing  saint,  and  testify,  even  in  the  agony  of  death, 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord,  yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors."  The  former 
is  a  gospel,  which  is  "  another  "  or  no  gospel ;  the  latter  is 
worthy  of  the  name,  for  it  is  "  good  news  "  indeed. 

By  way  of  illustrating  the  practical  effects  of  this  doc- 
trine, I  will  mention  an  interesting  fact,  which  occurred  in 
my  own  experience.  I  was  asked  to  deliver  a  lecture  at 
Poplar,  on  the  errors  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  the 
Infant  School-room,  granted  for  the  occasion  by  an  eminent 
Christian  gentleman,  Mr.  Green.  I  spoke  to  the  people 
that  were  assembled,  upon  the  uncomfortableness  (to  say 
the  least  of  it)  of  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and  showed 
them  the  contradiction  between  the  peculiar  principles  of 
Popery  and  the  express  and  declared  mind  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Some  hundreds  of  Roman  Catholics  were  present; 
some  of  them  listening  with  evident  anxiety,  and  others 
interrupting  with  contemptuous  sneers.  One  lady,  I  ob- 
served, who  had  a  pencil  in  her  hand,  noted  down  the  texts 
I  adduced,  and  some  of  the  arguments  I  urged ;  and  I 
noticed  sometimes  a  sneer,  and  sometimes  a  smile,  but  now 
and  then  the  pencil  stopped,  and  her  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
the  ground.  I  was  to  deliver  a  second  lecture,  and  on  that 
occasion  I  recognized  many  of  the  same  faces,  and  among 
them  this  lady ;  and  after  I  had  spoken  a  little,  her  pencil 
was  laid  down,  her  eye  was  fixed  upon  me,  and  her  ear 
drank  in  every  word  I  uttered.  At  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ing, she  handed  me  a  slip  of  paper,  containing  a  request  to 
have  an  interview  with  me.  We  met,  and  she  said  —  "I 
have  been  a  devoted  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  chapel 
at  Poplar ;  the  priest  is  my  intimate  friend,  and  the  god- 
father of  my  boy ;  I  was  to  play  the  new  organ  when  it  wiis 
put  up ;  1  have  gone  regularly  to  mass  and  to  confes- 
sion, and  have  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  elite  of  the 
communion  ;  —  but,  after  considering  carefully  and  prayer- 


406  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

fully  what  I  have  heard  in  your  two  lectures,  I  dare  no 
longer  remain  a  Roman  Catholic."  She  told  me,  that  when 
she  saw  the  placard  announcing  the  meeting,  she  informed 
the  priest  that  a  notorious  firebrand  was  coming  to  Poplar. 
The  priest  did  not  wish  to  take  any  notice  of  the  matter ; 
but  on  her  urging  the  expediency  of  being  made  acquainted 
with  what  was  said,  he  agreed  that  she  had  better  go  and 
take  notes  of  the  lecture.  She  did  so ;  and  wrote  him  a  let- 
ter immediately  after  the  close  of  it,  telling  him  there  was  to 
be  another  lecture,  and  he  must  come  and  answer  it,  or  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  Poplar  would  all  turn  Protestants. 
The  priest  returned  no  answer  to  this  suggestion ;  and  she 
wrote  to  another  priest  then  in  the  neighborhood.  Dr.  But- 
ler ;  but  he  also  took  no  notice  of  her  communication.  I 
knew  the  reason  of  their  silence :  the  moment  a  Roman 
Catholic's  judgment  begins  to  be  stumbled,  his  conscience 
stirred,  and  his  heart  impressed,  the  priest  feels  that  he  is 
gone,  and  lets  go  his  hope  of  detaining  him.  The  second 
lecture  confirmed  the  impression  of  the  first,  and  she  resolved 
to  renounce  the  Roman  Catholic  communion  for  ever.  I 
asked  her  what  points  struck  her  most  forcibly  in  my  state- 
ments, and  alienated  her  affections  so  rapidly  from  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  She  said,  it  was  not  so  much  the 
arguments  I  brought  forward  as  the  texts  I  quoted  —  a  very 
striking  and  precious  testimony.  One  of  these  texts,  she 
said,  fell  upon  her  like  a  sunbeam  from  heaven,  and  unveiled 
to  her  hopes  and  prospects  to  which  she  was  an  utter  stran- 
ger before ;  —  and  that  text  was,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  that 
die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  "  —  not  sufi'er  in  purgatory,  but  —  "  rest  from 
their  labors."  She  told  me,  that  she  felt  this  most  acutely, 
because  she  had  been  formerly  laid  upon  a  sick-bed,  and  her 
medical  attendant  had  given  up  all  hope,  and  told  her  there 
was  no  chance  of  her  recovery ;  she  sent  for  an  aged  priest 
from  a  neighboring  place,  to  administer  the  sacrament  of 


PURGATORY.  407 

Extreme  Unction.  On  receiving  it,  she  asked  him,  "  Am  I 
now  safe  ?  "  to  which,  according  to  her  testimony,  he  replied, 
"  I  can  pledge  my  own  safety  that  you  are."  "  But,"  added 
she,  "  have  I  not  to  pass  through  purgatory  ?  "  "  Unques- 
tionably," said  the  priest.  "  Then  tell  me,  as  a  dying 
woman,  what  is  the  nature  of  the  purgatory  that  I  have  to 
experience  ?  "  The  priest,  with  great  solemnity,  and,  if  his 
creed  be  right,  with  great  truth,  replied,  "  Purgatory,  my 
dear  child,  is  a  place  where  you  will  have  to  suffer  the  tor- 
ments of  the  damned,  only  of  shorter  duration."  She  said 
every  nerve  tingled  with  agony  at  the  announcement.  But 
when  the  text  I  illustrated  came  upon  her  ear,  and  reached 
her  heart,  declaring  that  the  dead  in  Christ  "  rest  from  their 
labors,"  and  again,  "  to  be  absent  from  the  body  is  to  be 
present  with  the  Lord,"  she  felt  that  either  the  priest  must 
be  wrong  and  the  Bible  true,  or  the  Bible  must  be  false  if 
purgatory  be  true. 

I  may  illustrate  these  statements  still  further.  On  the 
continent  of  Europe,  purgatory  is  obtruded  on  the  notice  of 
the  people  in  every  possible  shape  and  form,  as  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  last  summer.  One  place  I  shall 
not  soon  forget ;  it  was  in  the  city  of  Antwerp,  and  the 
name  of  it  is  La  Calvaire.  There  is  an  ascent  rising  at  an 
angle  of  about  twenty-»five  degrees,  and  on  each  side  of  the 
path  are  pictures  and  images  of  saints  ;  at  the  top  of  it  is  a 
picture  of  our  blessed  Lord  stretched  upon  the  cross  (prob- 
ably about  ten  feet  in  length),  and  out  of  his  wounded  side 
there  hangs  a  red  wire,  to  imitate  a  stream  of  blood  flowing 
into  a  cup  held  by  the  Virgin  Mary,  who  is  believed,  in  the 
Romish  theology,  to  be  the  great  dispensatrix  of  the  virtues 
of  her  Son  Jesus  Christ.  Below  this  crucifix  there  is  rep- 
resented a  purgatory ;  I  noticed  twelve  or  fourteen  heads 
cut  out  in  oak,  surrounded  by  flames  that  rise  in  every 
direction ;  and  over  this  is  a  text  from  Isaiah,  but  perverted 
and  misquoted  — "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  to 


408  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

preach  indulgences  to  the  captives."  Immediately  below 
the  text  there  is  a  box  for  receiving  money  to  remunerate 
the  priests,  who  offer  up  masses  for  the  repose  of  those 
whose  pictures  are  exhibited  struggling  in  the  flames  of 
purgatory. 

Another  illustration  of  the  same  thing  I  saw  in  the  ex- 
quisite Cathedral  Church  of  Malines,  in  the  very  heart  of 
Belgium,  where  the  railways  meet  and  converge.  On  going 
into  that  beautiful  church  I  found  the  funeral  ceremony  for 
one  of  the  departed  faithful  going  on.  The  coffin  was 
placed  in  the  body  of  the  cathedral,  and  a  priest  in  his  robes 
stood  at  each  corner  of  it ;  two  priests  went  through  the 
duty  peculiar  to  the  altar,  and  other  two  came  to  the  coffin, 
sprinkled  it  with  holy  water,  incensed  it  with  burning  per- 
fume, and  chanted  some  prayers.  After  the  ceremony,  two 
men  with  wands,  preceded  by  the  official  with  the  staff"  of 
authority,  came  to  each  person  in  the  cathedral  with  a  box, 
in  which  they  collected  money ;  the  box  was  extremely 
large,  probably  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length,  and  half  the  lid 
was  raised  and  stood  at  right  angles  with  the  box,  so  that  a 
surface  of  about  half  a  foot  square  was  presented  to  the  in- 
dividual before  whom  it  was  placed.  I  waited  to  give  a 
small  coin,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  value  of  the  masses  to  be 
said,  but  because  I  wished  to  see  more  distinctly  a  picture, 
of  which  I  had  just  caught  a  glimpse,  on  the  box ;  and  I 
found  that  it  represented  seven  or  eight  human  bodies 
writhing  and  struggling  amid  the  flames  of  purgatory ;  and, 
on  the  bottom  of  the  lid,  there  was  inscribed  —  "  Priez  pour 
les  fideles  trepasses  "  [Pray  for  the  faithful  who  are  dead]. 
It  was  a  picture  of  purgatorial  torment,  on  the  strength  of 
which  the  collectors  appealed  to  the  feelings  of  the  faithful, 
in  order  to  raise  funds  to  pay  the  priests  for  offering  up 
masses  for  the  relief  of  the  departed  man,  presumed  to  be 
suffering  the  burning  torments  of  purgatory. 

But,  of  all  the  painful  spectacles  to  be  witnessed  on  the 


PURGATORF.  409 

Continent,  In  connection  with  this  subject,  the  most  heart- 
rending is  that  of  weeping  mothers  and  weeping  sons.  Al- 
most every  day  you  may  see,  as  you  pass  the  beautiful  and 
tasteful  churchyards,  on  one  grave  a  mother  weeping  and 
praying,  with  a  fervor  worthy  of  a  purer  and  holier  cause, 
that  the  soul  of  her  departed  son  or  daughter  may  have 
repose  from  the  torments  of  purgatory ;  and,  on  another 
grave,  the  son  or  the  daughter  praying  for  the  soul  of  the 
mother,  or  the  widow  praying  for  the  repose  of  her  hus- 
band's spirit.  Thus  Christianity,  instead  of  being  a  faith  of 
joyful  hope  and  unutterable  peace,  seems  to  be  the  harbinger 
of  woe,  the  source  of  teai*s,  and  the  messenger  of  sadness- 
Sad,  not  glad,  tidings  seem  thus  to  be  its  burden.  The 
practical  effects  of  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  are  found  to  be 
subjection  to  the  priest,  and  aggrandizement  of  the  Church- 
It  is  only  where  the  glorious  Gospel  is  preached  in  its 
purity,  and  realized  in  its  power,  that  we  can  leave  the 
graves  of  departed  Christians,  and  feel  that  they  suffer  not 
in  the  regions  of  the  sorrowful,  nor  expiate  the  sins  of  life- 
after  death,  but  stand  before  the  throne  of  God,  "  having 
washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb." 

I  have  ah-eady  remarked,  that  the  doctrine  of  purgatory- 
proceeds  upon  the  assumption,  that  some  sins  are  mortal  and 
others  venial.  If  this  distinction  be  unfounded,  the  doctrine^ 
is  untenable.  Now  I  will  show  you,  from  the  plainest  an- 
nouncement of  Scripture,  that  the  distinction  is  unscriptural- 
Romans  vi.  23,  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death ; "  it  is  not, 
limited  to  mortal  sin,  but  spoken  of  sin  generally  —  all  sin. 
Ezekiel  xviii.  20,  — - "  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die."^ 
Galatians  iii.  10,  —  "Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth- 
not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  ta 
do  them."  Still  more  conclusive  is  James  ii.  10,  —  "Who- 
Boever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  pointy, 
he  is  guilty  of  all : "  there  is  no  individual  who  does  not. 
35 


410  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

"  offend  in  one  point,"  and,  therefore,  there  is  no  soul,  from 
the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  thereof,  who  is  not 
guilty  of  mortal  sin.  In  other  words,  there  is  no  distinction 
of  venial  sin  and  mortal  sin,  in  fixing  the  destinies  of 
eternity ;  but  the  wages  of  all  sin,  if  visited  upon  us,  are 
equally  everlasting  destruction.  I  admit  that  one  sin  is 
more  heinous  than  another ;  but  I  contend  that  the  wages  of 
all  sin  is  death,  and  that  while  the  greatest  sin  is  not  so 
gTcat  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  cannot  cancel  it,  the  least  sin 
is  not  so  little  that  it  wall  not  sink  you,  like  an  ocean  load, 
to  the  depths  of  perdition,  unless  expiated  by  the  sin  for- 
giving cross  of  the  Lamb  of  God. 

Another  postulate  that  purgatory  impiously  involves  and 
assumes,  is,  that  we  may,  by  suffering,  satisfy  for  sin. 
Against  this  idea,  the  whole  scope  and  tenor  of  the  ever- 
lasting Gospel  militate.  Job  xxxv.  5-7,  "  Look  unto  the 
heavens,  and  see;  and  behold  the  clouds,  which  are 
higher  than  thou.  If  thou  sinnest,  what  dost  thou  against 
him  ?  or  if  thy  transgression  be  multiplied,  what  dost  thou 
unto  him  ?  If  thou  be  righteous,  what  givest  thou  him  ?  or 
what  receiveth  he  of  thine  hand  ?  "  This  implies,  that  our 
sins  cannot  injure  God,  nor  our  suffering  profit  him.  Psalm 
xvi.  2,  "  Thou  art  my  Lord :  my  goodness  extendeth  not  to 
thee.'*  Nothing  that  we  can  do  can  profit  God,  or  deserve 
reward  from  him.  Micah  vi.  6,  7,  "  Wherewith  shall  I 
come  before  the  Lord,  and  bow  myself  before  the  high  God  ? 
shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt  offerings,  with  calves  of 
a  year  old?  will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands  of 
rams,  or  with  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  shall  I  give 
my  first-born  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body  for 
the  siij  of  my  soul  ?  "  No,  by  none  of  these  means  can  w^e 
appease  the  just  judgment  of  God,  or  expiate  the  sins  of 
which  we  have  been  guilty.  Luke  xvii.  10,  "When  ye 
shall  have  done  all  those  things  which  are  commanded  you, 
say,  We  are  unprofitable  servants ;  we  have  done  that  which 


PURGATORY.  411 

was  our  duty  to  do."  1  Corinthians  iv.  7,  "  What  hast  thou 
that  thou  didst  not  receive  ?  "  All  this  shows,  that  no  suffer- 
ings we  can  endure,  no  actions  we  can  achieve,  are  possessed 
of  any  meritorious  efficacy,  either  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the 
past,  or  to  advantage  God  in  the  way  of  securing  a  right- 
eousness which  may  be  a  title  to  the  glories  of  the  future. 

There  remain  three  or  four  texts  quoted  by  Roman  Cath- 
olics in  defence  of  Purgatory,  which  it  is  my  duty  briefly  to 
examine.  One  is  in  Matthew  xii.  32,  "  Whosoever  speaketh 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither 
in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to  come  ; "  from  which 
the  Roman  Catholic  infers,  that  there  is  forgiveness  for 
some  sins  in  the  world  to  come,  and  therefore  that  there  is 
Scripture  warrant  for  a  place  where  they  may  be  expiated. 
The  words  seem  to  have  been  sjDoken  by  our  Lord  to  over- 
throw the  superstitious  notions  of  the  Jews,  that  there  was 
forgiveness  for  sin  in  some  undefined  and  indescribable  state 
in  eternity.  In  the  first  place,  purgatory  cannot  be  referred 
to  in  this  text,  because  purgatory  is  not  in  "  the  world  to 
come,"  for  it  is  before,  and  not  after  the  judgment.  In  the 
next  place,  this  text  cannot  refer  to  purgatory,  because  it 
speaks  of  "  forgiveness  "  of  sins ;  but  purgatory  is  not  for- 
giveness, but  paying  the  last  farthing;  it  is  suffering  so 
much,  and  thereby  deserving  so  much  ;  "  forgiveness,"  which 
is  of  grace,  cannot  have  any  connection  with  expiatory  suf- 
fering, which  is  merit  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  in  the  last 
place,  the  text  is  satisfactorily  explained  by  a  reference  to 
the  parallel  passage,  (Mark  iii.  29,)  which  runs  — "  He 
that  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  hath  never 
forgiveness."  The  passage,  therefore,  does  not  prove  pur- 
gatory. 

Another  text  quoted  by  the  Roman  Catholic,  is  1  Corin- 
thians iii.  13-15 :  "  Every  man's  work  shall  be  made 
manifest :  for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be 
revealed  by  fire  ;  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work,  of 


412  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide,  wliicli  lie  hath 
built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any  man's 
work  shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss :  but  he  himself 
shall  be  saved,  yet  so  as  by  fire."  Here,  exclaims  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  disputant,  is  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  clearly 
revealed.  Now  we  can  at  once  shut  his  mouth  upon  this 
text ;  for  we  have  seen  that  it  is  a  law  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  that  where  the  fathers  are  not  unanimous  upon 
the  meaning  of  a  text,  the  Roman  Catholic  has  no  right  or 
power  to  interpret ;  and  I  have  shown  you  in  a  previous 
Lecture,  that  the  fathers  differ  in  relation  to  this  passage 
about  the  "  fire,"  about  the  "  work,"  about  the  "  day,"  about 
the  "  reward,"  and  about  the  "  loss."  The  Roman  Catholic, 
therefore,  on  his  own  principles,  has  no  right  to  adduce  this 
text  at  all.  But,  suppose  that  he  had,  it  would  not  prove 
purgatory.  In  the  first  place,  the  great  function  of  the  pur- 
gatorial fire  is  to  purify,  whereas  the  process  here  described 
is,  to  "  try  every  man's  work,  of  what  sort  it  is."  To  "  try  " 
a  piece  of  metal,  is  to  ascertain  whether  it  be  gold  or  brass; 
but  to  purify  it,  is  to  remove  what  is  dross,  and  preserve 
only  what  is  valuable :  as  purgatory  is  not  for  "  trying,"  but 
for  purging,  this  text  cannot  describe  purgatory.  In  the 
next  place,  the  passage  states  that  "  every  man's  work  "  shall 
be  tried  ;  but  purgatory  is  not  for  every  man ;  it  is  only  for 
those  who  die  in  venial  sin :  the  Virgin  Mary,  we  are  told, 
did  not  go  to  purgatory,  nor  the  apostles  (I  think)  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  none  go  there  who  die  in  mortal  sin ;  but,  as 
the  text  speaks  of  a  fire  that  is  for  "  every  man,"  it  proves 
too  much.  Further,  the  fire  spoken  of  by  the  apostle,  is  to 
try  every  man's  ^^work;"  but  purgatory  is  for  purifying 
men's  souls :  a  work  is  not  the  soul,  and,  therefore,  again 
we  infer,  the  passage  cannot  refer  to  purgatory.  It  is  here 
stated,  that  some  shall  "  suffer  loss ; "  but  in  purgatory 
none  "  suffer  loss  "  —  they  all  eventually  get  out,  and  re- 
ceive much  gain.     Lastly,  the  expression,  "  saved  so  as  by 


PURGATORY.  413 

fire,"  is  simply  a  proverbial  phrase  for  denoting  difficulty  of 
escape :  we  have  an  expression  parallel  to  it  in  the  words  — 
"  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?  "  Any  one 
acquainted  with  the  Greek  poets  knows  that  this  form  of  ex- 
pression is  common  with  them,  to  denote  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  escaping  from  danger  and  attaining  a  place  of  safety. 
Another  passage  quoted  by  Roman  Catholic  divines,  is 
in  1  Peter  iii.  19:  "By  which  [Spirit]  also  Christ  went 
and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison,  which  sometime 
were  disobedient,  when  once  the  longsuffering  of  God 
waited  in  the  days  of  Noah."  Here,  says  the  Roman 
Catholic,  is  clearly  the  statement,  that  there  are  spirits  in 
prison,  to  whom  Christ  went  and  preached  the  Gospel.  All 
this,  however,  proceeds  upon  the  supposition,  that  the 
preaching  was  by  Christ  personally,  and  that  tliQ  last  half 
of  the  text  is  to  be  disjointed  and  disconnected  from  the 
first.  The  meaning  of  it  is  obviously  this ;  to  those  souls 
that  were  disobedient  in  the  days  of  Noah,  Christ  preached, 
but  without  effect,  for  they  are  now  in  prison.  But  how  did 
he  preach  in  the  days  of  Noah  ?  Christ  preached  directly 
and  personally  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  and  he  preached 
indirectly  by  his  ministering  servants.  Noah,  as  one  of 
these,  is  called  "  a  preacher  of  righteousness,"  and  by  him, 
Christ  preached  to  the  antediluvian  world;  but  they  re- 
jected the  patriarch's  proclamations  of  the  Gospel,  and 
despised  his  invitations  to  come  into  the  ark ;  and  the  spirits 
of  these  antediluvian  sceptics  are  now  in  the  prison  of  hell. 
But  to  settle  all  pretensions  of  the  Romanist  to  prove  pur- 
gatory by  this  passage,  I  must  observe,  that  according  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  idolatry,  unbelief,  and  rejection  of 
the  truth,  are  mortal  sins;  the  antediluvians  denied  the 
existence,  despised  the  mercies,  and  rejected  the  invitations 
of  God,  and  therefore  they  died  in  mortal  sin ;  but  purgatory 
is  only  fo?  those  who  die  in  venial  sin,  since  those  who  die 
in  mortal,  go  to  hell  for  ever ;  consequently,  the  antedilu- 
35* 


414  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY 

nans  cannot  have  gone  to  purgatory,  but  must  [on  Roman 
Catholic  principles]  be  in  the  prison  of  hell  for  ever. 

Another  passage  quoted  by  Koman  Catholics,  is  in  Mat- 
thew V.  25 :  "  Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly,  while 
thou  art  in  the  way  with  him,  lest  at  any  time  the  adversary 
cdeliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to  the 
officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into  prison : "  they  say,  this  means 
the  prison  of  purgatory.  The  simple  reply  to  this  is,  that 
unjust  anger,  of  which  Christ  is  speaking,  is  one  of  the 
seven  mortal  sins  enumerated  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church :  and  a  person  guilty  of  it,  therefore,  does  not  go  to 
purgatory,  but  is  consigned  to  hell.  Hence,  this  passage 
cannot  prove  purgatory. 

How  many  beautiful  and  impressive  texts  prove  the 
reverse !  The  announcement  of  Isaiah,  descriptive  of  the 
destiny  of  the  just,  ought  to  fall  like  the  sunbeams  of 
lieaven  on  the  hearts  of  those  that  mourn :  "  He  shall  enter 
into  peace ;  they  shall  rest  in  their  beds,  each  one  walking 
in  his  uprightness."  Of  the  rich  man  it  is  recorded,  that 
ivhen  he  died,  his  soul  passed  at  once  into  the  regions  of  the 
damned ;  and  of  Lazarus,  that  his  soul  was  borne  instantly 
to  the  bosom  of  Abraham.  The  thief  upon  the  cross 
beheld  the  majesty  that  peered  forth  amid  the  sorrow  of  the 
^Son  of  God ;  and,  recognizing  in  that  lone  sufferer  no  ordi- 
nary child  of  mortality,  he  lifted  up  his  earnest  petition, 
""  Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom." 
Our  blessed  Redeemer,  if  the  Roman  Catholic  tenet  had 
been  true,  would  have  replied,  "Thou  shalt,  a  thousand 
years  hence,  be  with  me  in  Paradise,  but,  for  years  and 
years  to  come,  thou  must  be  purified  in  purgatory ; "  and, 
if  any  one  needed  to  go  to  purgatory  for  purity,  it  was 
surely  he.  But  our  Lord  proclaimed  the  great  hope  of  the 
Gospel,  fraught  with  consolation  to  the  mourner,  and  with 
peace  to  the  troubled  —  "Verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  to-da^ 
thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise." 


PURGATORY.  415 

Again :  the  Apostle  Paul  said,  "  I  have  a  desire  to  depart 
and  to  be  with  Christ ; "  "  "We  are  willing  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord."  The  dying 
martyr  Stephen  beheld  Jesus  at  the  riglit  hand  of  God,  and 
exclaimed,  "Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  We  read 
(Romans  viii.  1)  "  There  is  no  condemnation,"  in  the  pres- 
ent or  in  the  future,  "  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  In 
John  V.  2,  4,  "He  that  believeth  hath  everlasting  life." 
"  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law."  "  He 
hath  borne  our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows;  he  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions;  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him, 
and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed : "  would  it  be  just  in 
God  to  exact  payment  twice?  If  Christ  has  paid  the 
debt  —  if  Christ  has  borne  the  responsibility  —  we  stand 
free  and  acquitted  in  the  sight  of  God.  "  "Who,  his  own 
self,"  it  is  said  in  another  passage,  "  bare  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree."  And  again  :  "  "Who  shall  lay  any  thing 
to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  "  "Will  God  do  it  ?  "  It  is 
God  that  justifieth.  "Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  "  "Will 
Christ  do  it  ?  "  It  is  Christ  that  died  ;  yea,  rather,  that  has 
risen  again."  And  in  the  prospect  of  a  judgment-morn,  the 
apostle  could  triumpantly  declare  —  "  I  am  persuaded,  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

Let  me  next  show  you,  that  beside  the  blood  of  Christ 
we  have  no  intimation  of  any  purgatory.  My  text  de- 
scribes the  true  purgatory ;  and  immediately  afterwards  we 
read,  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just "  — 
faithful  to  his  promise,  and  just  because  Christ  has  died  — 
"  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright 
eousness."  "  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be 
as  white  as  snow;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they 


416  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

shall  be  as  wool."  If  we  are  made  spotless  as  the  driven 
snow  —  if  our  transgressions  are  so  far  removed  that  only 
the  purity  of  wool  remains  behind  —  then  there  is  no  sin  for 
purgatory  to  expiate,  there  is  no  stain  for  its  torments  to 
efface.  Again :  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other ; " 
but  if  purgatory  be  true,  there  is  a  process  of  salvation 
going  on  there.  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world."  "  I  have  blotted  out  as  a  thick 
cloud  thy  transgressions,  and  as  a  cloud  thy  sins."  "And 
one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto  me.  What  are  these 
which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  whence  came  they  ? 
And  I  said  unto  him,  Sir,  thou  knowest.  And  he  said  unto 
me.  These  are  they  "  —  whi»h  have  escaped  the  purgatorial 
torments  of  the  middle  state  ?  which  have  purified  them- 
selves by  an  expiatory  process,  dreadful  as  that  which  Pope 
Innocent  was  doomed  to  endure  ?  which  have  come  from  a 
region  where  they  were  driven,  in  terrible  and  endless  suc- 
cession, from  intense  cold  to  intense  heat  ?  No :  that  would 
be  Popery.  The  Bible  is  eloquent  with  the  most  glorious 
truths  of  evangelical  Protestantism;  and  therefore  it  pro- 
claims, in  its  own  majestic  tones  —  which  I  pray  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  may  make  to  be  music  and  melody  in  the 
heart  of  every  one  that  hears  me !  — "  These  are  they 
which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their 
robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb; 
therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God." 

Once  more :  There  is  no  evidence  whatever  in  Scripture, 
that  the  saints  suffer  after  death.  "  Blessed  are  the  dead 
that  die  in  the  Lord ;  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may 
rest  from  their  labors."  "Whether  we  live,  therefore,  or 
die,  we  are  the  Lord's."  "  He  shall  enter,"  not  into  purga- 
tory, but  —  "  into  peace ;  they  shall "  —  not  suffer  in  fire, 
but  —  "  rest  in  their  beds,  each  one  walking  in  his  upright- 
ness." Ecclesiastes  xi.  8 :  "  If  the  tree  fall  toward  the 
south  or  toward  the  north,  in  the  place  where  the  trea 


PURGATORY.  417 

falleth,  there  shall  it  be."  The  moment  a  man  dies,  his 
character  is  (if  I  may  use  the  expression)  stereotyped ;  it  is 
made  a  fixture  for  eternity.  The  man  that  dies  an  unfor- 
given  sinner,  spends  eternity  an  unforgiven  and  a  suffering 
sinner ;  and  the  man  that  dies  having  his  sins  expiated  in 
the  blood  of  Jesus,  spends  eternity  a  rejoicing  and  a  glori- 
fied saint.  Where  death  leaves  you,  judgment  will  find 
you.  The  decision  of  the  judgment-morn  is,  "  He  that  is 
unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still ;  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him 
be  filthy  still ;  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  be  righteous 
still ;  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still."  Again :  it 
is  beautifully  said,  "  He  forgiveth  all  thine  iniquities ;  for  as 
the  heaven  is  high  above  the  "earth,  so  great  is  his  mercy 
toward  them  that  fear  him ;  as  far  as  the  east  is  from  the 
west,  so  far  hath  he  removed  our  transgressions  from  us."  I 
ask.  Is  purgatory  consistent  with  these  glorious  truths? 
What  is  the  great  object  of  the  death  and  atonement  of 
Christ  ?  Not  to  make  God  love  us,  but  to  render  it  possi- 
ble for  God  to  save  us  in  full  harmony  with  his  justice  and 
holiness.  And  to  suppose  that  after  Jesus  has  suffered  that 
the  world  might  be  redeemed  —  after  heaven  heard  the  tri- 
umphant accents,  "  It  is  finished,"  and  hell  became  blank 
with  dismay  as  the  words  reverberated  there  —  after  salva- 
tion has  been  completed,  and  a  channel  opened  from  heaven 
to  earth,  so  glorious  that  heaven's  full  tide  of  love  may  roll 
down  and  visit  and  refresh  the  guiltiest  —  to  expect,  after 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  that  God  will  still  demand  the 
punishment  and  penalty  for  sin,  as  if  Christ  had  never 
borne  it  —  is  to  caricature  the  Eternal,  and  to  invert  the 
whole  drift  and  scope  of  the  truth  of  God. 

Again:  "We  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have "  —  a  purgatory  to  go 
to  ?  No  —  "a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Simeon  said,  "  Lord,  now 
lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace."     Abraham  spake 


418  THE    GREAT   APOSTASY. 

in  this  manner  fo  the  rich  man :  "  Son,  remember  that  thou 
in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things,  and  likewise 
Lazarus  evil  things :  but  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art 
tormented;"  implying  that  Lazarus  instantly  entered  on 
the  enjoyments  of  heaven  when  he  left  the  w^orld. 

I  protest  also  against  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  because 
it  presents  a  picture  of  the  forgiveness  of  God,  miserable, 
meagre,  and  contemptible.  I  cannot  find  the  least  founda- 
tion for  such  a  view  in  the  word  of  God.  It  seems  to  me 
as  if  God  exhausted  the  resources  of  human  language,  and 
the  figures  and  the  metaphors  of  human  rhetoric,  to  set 
forth  the  fulness  and  perfection  of  his  forgiveness  in  Christ. 
He  says,  that  our  sins  "  He  will  remember  no  more."  He 
represents  his  forgiveness  by  non-imputation :  "  not  imputing 
their  trespasses  unto  them."  He  represents  it  by  covering : 
"  Blessed  is  the  man  whose  sin  is  covered."  He  represents 
it  by  taking  away :  "  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world,"  lifteth  it  away  as  a  burden.  He  repre- 
sents it  by  blotting  out :  "  I  am  he  that  blotteth  out  thine 
iniquities."  He  represents  it  as  casting  behind :  "  Thou 
hast  cast  all  my  sins  behind  thy  back."  He  represents  it  as 
removing :  "  As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  hath 
he  removed  our  transgressions  from  us."  And  in  a  beauti- 
ful passage  it  is  asked,  "  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee,  that 
pardoneth  iniquity,  and  passeth  by  the  transgression  of  the 
remnant  of  his  heritage,  because  he  delighteth  in  mercy  ?  " 

But  some  one  may  say,  "  These  are  descriptions  of  sin's 
annihilation ;  but  are  we  not  all  conscious  of  sin,  and  have 
we  not  still  a  lingering  feeling  that  all  is  not  right  in  the 
sight  of  God  ?  My  dear  friends,  if  we  are  the  children  of 
God,  we  ought  now  to  rejoice  in  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  God 
means  that  Christians  should  not  be  miserable,  but  happy  : 
God  destines  you  for  joy,  not  for  sorrow  and  doubt ;  and  if 
you  are  possessed  with  despondency  or  distrust,  it  is  you 
that  are    straitened,  not   God.     I  believe  the  reason    of 


PURGATORY.  41^ 

wiuch  of  the  sadness  of  Christians  is,  that  they  keep  looking 
at  the  sin  which  is  blotted  out,  not  remembered,  and  for- 
given ;  instead  of  looking  at  the  Saviour,  who  has  borne  it 
away.  Suppose  that  I  have  owed  an  individual  100/.,  I 
have  not  his  receipt  for  it ;  suppose  I  come  to  his  place  of 
business,  and  looking  over  his  ledger,  I  see  the  account 
against  me  of  items  making  up  the  100/.  I  feel  the  uneasy 
impression  flash  across  my  mind,  that  I  may  not  be  able  to 
prove  I  have  paid  it ;  and  I  confess  it  to  him.  "  True,"  he 
says, "  you  read  your  name  in  my  ledger,  with  the  account  of 
the  goods,  and  the  sums  appended ;  but  do  you  not  notice  a 
diagonal  hne,  in  red  ink,  extending  from  one  corner  to  an- 
other ?  That  means  that  all  is  paid,  and  I  have  no  demand 
against  you."  My  dear  friends,  we  keep  looking  at  the  sin 
and  the  penalty,  and  therefore  we  despond.  Look  again  at 
that  precious  red  line  which  crosses  out  the  whole  —  "  the 
blood  of  Christ,  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin." 

The  doctrine  of  purgatory  interferes  with  the  effect  of  the 
expiatory  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  therefore  I 
protest  against  it.  By  the  blood  of  Christ,  we  read  in 
Scripture,  every  needed  blessing  is  realized.  Is  peace  de- 
sired ?  He  hath  "  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his  cross." 
Is  boldness  of  approach  to  the  mercy-seat  a  blessing  ?  "  We 
have  boldness  and  access  with  confidence  by  the  faith  of 
him."  Is  nearness  to  God  heaven  itself?  Thpse  who  were 
afar  off  "  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ."  Is  re- 
demption a  blessing  ?  "  We  have  redemption  through  his 
blood."  Is  victory  over  sin,  and  Satan,  and  the  world,  a 
blessing?  "They  overcame  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  Is 
cleansing  a  blessing  ?  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin." 

One  thought  more,  and  I  shall  express  it  in  the  words  of 
a  beautiful  French  poem,  which  has  been  placed  in  my 
hands,  and  which  will  teach  Protestants  and  Roman  Cath- 
olics what  is  the  true  purgatory  on  which  they  can  rely. 


^0  THE    GREAT    APOSTASY. 

"Great  God!  thy  ways  are  true,  thy  judgments  right; 

It  ever  is  thy  pleasure  to  be  kind ; 
But  I  so  long  to  grace  have  done  despite, 

Thy  justice  fails  if  I  should  pardon  find. 
Yea,  Holy  One !  a  life  of  guilt  hke  mine 

Leaves  thee  no  power  my  punishment  to  waive ; 
Thine  honor  and  my  peace  can  never  join, 

Nor  can  thy  mercy  plead  with  thee  to  save. 
Then  do  thy  will ;  for  this  thy  glory  ci-ies ; 

Ev'n  at  thy  Cross  let  thy  just  anger  rise; 
Let  lightnings  flash,  in  thunder  strike  thy  foe ; 

Li  sinking,  I  adore  my  righteous  God. 
But  on  what  part  can  vengeance  deal  the  blow. 

That  is  not  cover'd  -with  a  Saviour's  blood?  " 

"  Grand  Dieu!  tes  jugemens  sont  remplis  d'^quit(5; 

Toujours  tu  prends  plaisir  a  nous  etre  propice; 
Mais  j'ai  tant  fait  de  mal  que  jamais  ta  bonte, 

Ne  me  pardonnera  sans  choquer  ta  justice. 
Oui,  mon  Dieu !  la  grandeur  de  mon  impi(it6 

Ne  laisse  a  ton  pouvoir  que  le  choix  du  supplice; 
Ton  intdret  s'oppose  a  ma  fdlicit^, 

Et  ta  cl^meuce  raeme  attend  que  je  p^risse. 
Content  ton  d^sir,  puisqu'il  t'est  glorieux; 

Offense  toi  des  pleurs  qui  coulent  de  mes  yeux ; 
Tonne,  frappe,  il  est  tems ;  rends  moi  guerre  pour  gueiTe ; 

J'adore  en  p^rissant  la  raison  qui  t'aigrit. 
Mais  dessus  quel  endroit  tomber  a  ton  tonnerre. 

Qui  ne  soit  tout  couvert  du  sang  de  J^sus-Christ?  " 


THE  BARNET  DISCUSSION.* 


At  the  request  of  Captain  Trotter,  of  Dirom  Park,  Dr« 
Gumming  agreed  to  give  a  Lecture,  contrasting  the  errors- 
of  the  Romish  Church  with  the  doctrines  of  Scripture. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno,  the  resident  priest,  appeared, 
at  the  meeting  and  was  heard,  —  and  each  speech  occupied 
thirty  minutes.  The  discussion  began  at  twelve  o'clock  and 
ended  at  four ;  and  again  at  seven,  and  ended  at  ten.  After 
the  meeting,  the  priest  circulated  a  tract,  apparently  a  reply 
to  Dr.  Cumming's  speech,  and  additional  to  the  priest's  oral, 
speeches,  but  really  a  previously  written  and  printed  tract,,, 
to  which  the  following  two  Lectures  are  replies.  Soon  after: 
the  discussion  the  priest  disappeared. 


LECTURE   I.  • 

In  the  same  spirit,  and  with  the  same  great  and  blessed^ 
objects  in  view,  which  have  been  so  clearly  and  so  affection- 
ately stated  by  our  Chairman,  I  beg  to  address  you  on  the^ 
document  which  has  been  extensively  circulated  amongst 

»  A  Reply  to  Rev.  Dr.  Faa  Di  Brano,  Priest  of  Bamet;  being  a  Solution' 
of  the  various  passages  of  Scripture  quoted  in  defence  of  Romanism;  ins 
two  Lectures,  delivered  at  Bamet,  in  1850  —  Capt.  Trotter,  of  Dirom  Park,, 
t>eing  in  the  chair. 

36 


422  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

you,  and  placed  in  my  hands.  I  would  wish  you  to  bear  in 
mind,  before  I  make  a  single  remark  upon  the  subject,  what 
the  real  subject  before  us  is,  and  what  the  question,  as 
treated  and  discussed  in  this  pamphlet  also  is.  It  is  not 
whether  Church  or  Dissent  be  the  best,  —  it  is  not  a  dispute 
whether  the  Established  Church  or  the  various  bodies  of 
Dissenters  have  the  greatest  claim  to  be  the  Church  of 
Christ ;  or  to  purity  of  discipline  ;  —  this  is  a  question  we 
have  nothing  to  do  with  on  this  platform  —  a  question  which 
I  have  not  been  invited  to  discuss,  and  which,  for  many 
reasons,  irrespective  of  the  impropriety  of  it  liere,  I  desire 
to  decline.  The  discussion  of  such  subjects,  I  believe,  is 
only  calculated  to  do  damage  to  precious  vital  truth.  Nor 
is  the  question,  on  the  other  hand,  whether  Episcopacy,  or 
Presbytery,  or  Independency  be  right.  I  believe  there  is 
no  more  Popery  in  Episcopacy  than  there  is  in  Indepen- 
dency ;  connected,  essentially,  with  either,  there  is  none.  A 
man  may  be  an  Episcopalian,  and  not  a  Christian  ;  he  may 
be  an  Independent,  and  not  a  Christian ;  he  may  be  one  or 
other,  and  a  child  of  God,  accepted  in  Christ,  and  made 
meet  by  His  Spirit  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  I  decline, 
too.  Sir,  discussing  all  such  questions  upon  other  grounds :  I 
believe  the  time  is  short,  and  that  all  our  controversies  are 
converging  more  and  more  upon  that  which  is  soul  saving 
or  soul  ruining.  If  the  times  into  which  we  are  plunging 
shall  come  upon  us  engaged  in  discussions  about  Church  and 
Dissent  —  about  robes  and  vestments  —  about  forms  and 
ceremonies  —  and  such  like  —  depend  upon  it,  they  who  are 
the  children  of  God  will  suffer  severely  for  their  dereliction 
of  a  higher  duty,  and  they  who  are  not  so,  but  give  them- 
selves wholly  to  such  questions,  will  be  overtaken  by  the 
storm  when  it  is  too  late  to  escape  from  it. 

In  the  next  place,  I  would  beg  of  you  all  to  recollect 
what  our  Chairman  has  also  endeavored  so  earnestly  to  im- 
press —  that  it  is  a  question  affecting  the  soul.    I  am  not 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  423 

iirre  to  argue  with  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno,  or  Dr.  anybody  elsCj 
for  victory.  What  prize  can  it  be  to  Captain  Trotter,  or 
what  gain  can  it  be  to  me,  that  we  are  able  to  reply  to  the 
very  puerile  arguments  that  are  advanced  against  those 
precious  truths  with  which  we  have  identified  our  present 
happiness  and  our  future  peace  ?  There  is  nothing  to  be 
gained  by  that.  My  motive,  in  obedience  to  his  personal 
request,  in  coming  down  to  address  you  here  is  to  be  the 
means  of  enlightening  you  on  the  knowledge  of  a  subject 
which  has  been  thrust  upon  you,  and  which  you  have  not 
courted  yourselves,  by  the  appearance  and  zealous  labors  of 
a  Roman  Catholic  Priest  in  your  parish ;  and,  in  the  next 
place,  to  prepare  you  against  the  efforts  confessedly  and 
avowedly  made  by  that  sincere,  but  misguided  teacher,  to 
seduce  you  from  the  good  ancient  Church  of  Bible  Chris- 
tianity to  the  comparatively  modern  communion  called  the 
Church  of  Rome.  I  beg  of  you  to  look  upon  the  discussion 
of  the  question,  as  a  matter  of  solemn  and  serious  import. 
If  we  be  right,  our  Roman  Catholic  friends  and  fellow- 
countrymen  are  painfully,  disastrously,  fatally  wrong.  There 
can  be  no  compromise  whatever.  We  cannot  go  to  them, 
for  we  dare  not  enter  upon  their  ground ;  and  they  refuse  to 
come  to  us.  The  controversy  is  between  Christ  and  Anti- 
christ ;  it  is  apostolical  religion  or  the  apostasy  :  there  can 
be  no  concession,  there  can  be  no  compromise  ;  it  is  life  or 
death,  happiness  or  woe  ;  and  in  that  solemn  light,  and  with 
these  deep  convictions,  we  ought  to  address  ourselves  to  this 
momentous  subject.  Let  me  state,  too,  that  all  the  signs 
of  the  times  indicate  that  this  is  to  be  the  coming  contro- 
versy. I  believe  that  all  society  is  splitting  into  two  great 
sections  :  those  who  will  rally  round  Antichrist  —  call  it  the 
Church,  call  it  the  priest,  call  it  any  thing  you  like  —  as  their 
Saviour,  and  their  hope,  and  their  God ;  and  those  who 
rally  round  and  cleave  to  Christ  as  "  the  only  name  given 
among  men  whereby  we  can  be  saved." 


424  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

The  reason,  however,  more  immediately,  of  my  appear- 
ance here  is  the  very  extraordinary  fact,  which  I  did  not 
discover  at  the  time,  that  at  the  doors  of  the  last  meeting 
held  in  this  place,  before  the  discussion  could  have  been 
even  reported  by  the  cleverest  shorthand  writer  that  ever 
WTote,  there  was  circulated  among  the  people  as  they  retired, 
a  pamphlet  called  "  Popery  and  Protestantism  :  an  Anti- 
dote to  two  Anti- Catholic  Lectures  delivered  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Gumming,  at  the  Hall,  Barnet,  printed  by  Henry  Lucas, 
No.  3  Burleigh  Street,  Strand."  Now,  how  they  should 
have  gone  to  "No.  3  Burleigh  Street,  Strand,"  to  "Mr. 
Henry  Lucas,  Printer,"  as  the  title-page  indicates,  and 
could  have  answered  my  lectures  before  these  lectures  were 
actually  delivered,  is  one  of  those  miracles  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  alone  can  claim  credit  for,  and  such  a  miracle  as  I 
do  submit  even  the  Rev.  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno,  "  the  Catholic 
Parish  Priest  in  Barnet,"  alone  would  identify  himself  with. 
It  seems,  therefore,  that  Dr.  Faa,  who  professed  on  this 
platform  that  he  had  no  time  for  preparation,  —  that  he  had 
not  been  able  to  give  attention  to  the  subject,  as  he  said,  it 
came  suddenly  upon  him  —  had,  notwithstanding,  for  the 
last  three  months  at  least,  been  laboriously  concocting  a 
reply  to  Dr.  Cumming's  lectures.  He  had  seen  these  lec- 
tures through  some  infallible  telescope  of  his  own ;  he  had 
heard  them  in  the  echo  before  they  were  delivered ;  and 
with  that  foresight  and  sagacity  which  he  exhibited,  he  had 
prepared  the  corresponding  antidote  before  the  poison  ap- 
peared :  an  act,  I  say,  enough  to  place  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno 
amongst  the  most  distinguished  saints  in  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic calendar,  as  well  as  to  make  him,  indeed,  to  be  far  more 
valued  and  promoted  in  the  Church  to  which  he  belongs. 
This  "  antidote  "  endeavors  "  to  compare  the  errors  (as  he 
supposes)  of  Popery  with  the  truths  of  the  Bible :  against 
which  are  here  compared  the  errors  of  Protestantism  with 
the  truths  of  the  Bible.     By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno, 


THE   BAKNET   DISCUSSIOK.  425 

the  Catholic  Parish  Priest  in  Barnet "  —  the  parish  priest, 
you  observe ;  he  does  not  disguise  his  ecclesiastical  pre- 
tensions. When  I  read  his  title-page,  I  sent  a  person 
at  once  to  Mr.  Henry  Lucas,  printer.  No.  3,  Burleigh 
Street,  Strand.  He  went,  and  knocked  at  the  door  for 
about  five  minutes,  but  there  was  no  printer  there.  The 
door  was  shut,  and  there  was  no  access ;  and  every  effort 
that  I  made  to  get  information  respecting  Mr.  *'  Henry 
Lucas,  printer,  No.  3  Burleigh  Street,  Strand,"  the  printer 
of  this  document,  utterly  failed.  I  wanted  to  know  if  it 
was  a  fact  that  this  is  a  regular  tract  circulated  by  Roman 
Catholics,  kept  always  in  readiness  —  like  a  pistol  loaded, 
ready  to  be  fired  off  on  all  appropriate  occasions ;  and 
whether  a  blank  leaf  was  left  to  be  filled  up,  so  that  if  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno  should  remove  from  Barnet,  and 
leave  it  to  some  other  priest,  he  could  cancel  his  own  name, 
and  put  in  Dr.  somebody  else,  who  is  to  be  his  successor,  if 
successor  he  is  to  have,  and  so  fire  off  the  tract  at  every 
meeting  held  to  discuss  these  important  subjects.  I  could 
get  no  information  on  this  matter ;  and  I  therefore  leave  the 
history  of  the  tract  and  its  succession  —  I  leave  this  for 
your  own  imaginations  to  supply ;  and  address  myself  to  its 
contents,  which  profess  to  be  associated  with  my  name,  and 
with  the  discussion  held  in  this  place. 

Now  I  want  plainly  and  simply  to  speak  to  you  as  unto 
reasonable  men;  and  I  ask  you  to  judge  for  yourselves. 
For  recollect,  the  essence  of  Popery  is  to  take  what  the 
minister  says,  and,  because  he  says  it,  to  believe  it:  the 
essence  of  Protestantism  is  to  bring  not  my  statement  only, 
but  were  it  the  statement  of  the  venerable  and  evangehcal 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  the  law  and  the  testimony. 
If  an  Archbishop  or  curate,  presbyter  or  priest  speak  against 
it  —  nay,  more,  "  if  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  to 
you  any  other  Gospel,  let  him  be  anathema."  I  therefore 
ask  you,  as  reasonable  men,  to  listen  to  the  analysis  that  I 
36* 


426  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

give  of  the  texts  quoted  by  the  "  Rev.  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno, 
Catholic  parish  priest  in  Barnet,"  against  the  doctrines  of 
Protestant  Christianity,  and  in  favor,  as  he  says,  of  the  doc- 
itrines  of  Rome. 

If  Dr.  Faa  had  been  present,  however,  I  should  have 
ffirst  congratulated  him  upon  the  privilege  which  he  enjoys 
in  this  country,  and  to  which  the  last  Pope,  Gregory  XVI. 
was  very  much  opposed,  namely,  the  liberty  of  the  press. 
For,  no  sooner  has  the  meeting  been  closed,  than  Dr.  Faa 
avails  himself  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  prints  and 
circulates  the  tract  now  lying  before  me.  It  is  very  strange 
that  whilst  Dr.  Faa  was  availing  himself  of  this  liberty,  his 
great  master,  who  preceded  Pius  IX.,  Gregory  XVI.,  had 
heartily  denounced  it ;  for  in  1832  this  Pope  wrote  :  "  Hither 
tends  that  w^orst,  and  never  sufficiently  to  he  execrated  and 
■  detested  liberty  of  the  press,  for  the  diffusion  of  all  manner  of 
writings,  which  some  so  loudly  contend  for."  And  he  adds 
too :  "  From  this  same  fountain  of  indifference  flows  that 
absurd  and  erroneous  doctrine,  or  rather  raving,  in  favor, 
and  in  defence  of  liherty  of  conscience,  for  which  most  pesti- 
lential error  the  course  is  open  by  that  entire  and  wild 
liberty  of  opinion,  etc."  Here,  then,  is  a  Pope,  in  1832, 
denouncing  the  liberty  of  the  press,  as  well  as  liberty  of 
■conscience;  which  Dr.  Faa  has  made  use  of  in  1850. 
Here  is  a  Pope  denouncing  it ;  here  is  a  priest  making  use 
of  it ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Faa  feels  that,  however 
admirable  the  Pope's  doctrine  may  be  at  Rome,  where  the 
Pope  has  all  the  power,  our  Protestant  doctrine  is  best 
•where  he  has  not  the  power ;  and  he  has  accordingly  turned 
lit  to  account  in  the  circulation  of  this  pamphlet. 

He  impugns  first  of  all  the  statement  that  "  Protestants 
hold,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  clear  and  easy  to  be  un- 
derstood in  all  things  necessary  to  salvation."  Well,  we 
have  certainly  been  in  the  habit,  the  unfortunate  habit,  if 
Dr.  Faa  chooses  to  call  it  so,  of  believing  this.     We  have 


THE  BARNET  DISCUSSION.  427 

believed  so  upon  sucli  grounds  as  this,  that  he  that  reads 
may  "  run  while  he  reads."  And  we  find,  too,  that  when 
the  apostles  preached,  there  were  certain  parties  who 
searched  the  Scriptures,  if  these  things  were  so ;  and  there- 
fore many  of  them  believed.  The  Scriptures  were  thought 
so  plain  in  the  days  of  Paul  and  Timothy,  that  the  apostle, 
in  his  Epistle  to  Timothy,  reminds  him  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  known  the  Scriptures  from  a  child,  and  that  he  had 
been  taught  them  by  his  mother,  and  by  his  grandmother. 
Now  either  Timothy  must  have  been  a  very  extraordinary 
child,  with  an  extraordinary  intellect  to  understand  the 
Scriptures  in  his  day ;  or,  on  the  supposition  that  he  was 
like  others,  our  children  may  understand  the  Scriptures  too, 
and  their  mothers  and  grandmothers  should  teach  them  as 
of  old.     It  is  part  of  the  apostolical  succession  to  do  so. 

All  these  passages  would  incline  me  to  think  that  the 
Scriptures,  in  all  essential  truths,  cannot  be  very  dillicult. 
At  all  events,  if  it  be  very  difficult  to  understand  them,  we 
ask  Dr.  Faa  what  he  proposes  to  substitute  for  them  ?  He 
\Till  tell  you  at  once :  "  The  bulls  of  Popes,  the  canons  of 
CJouncils,  the  traditions  of  the  Church."  Well,  some  of 
these  are  in  Greek,  some  of  them  ai'e  in  Latin,  and  some  of 
them  in  very  crabbed  Latin,  most  of  them  very  misty  and 
obscure ;  and  I  do  venture  to  assert,  (and  I  would  tell  Dr. 
Faa  so  if  he  were  here,  but  he  has  not  honored  us  with  his 
presence  to-day,)  that  if  the  Bible  be  very  difficult  to  under- 
stand, it  is  not  at  all,  in  this  respect,  to  be  compared  with 
the  difficulty  of  understanding  Pope's  bulls,  and  decrees  of 
Synods,  and  canons  of  General  Councils.  So  that  to  take 
the  most  fair  view,  to  take  his  rule  of  faith,  and  to*  take 
ours,  I  do  venture  to  assert  that  the  plain  agricultural  la- 
borer in  the  neighborhood  of  Barnet  will  pick  out  of  the 
Bible  the  way  to  heaven,  and  hold  it  so  fast  that  all  the 
Popes  and  prelates  in  the  world  will  not  take  it  from  him ; 
while  I  defy  Captain  Trotter,  with  all  his  knowledge,  or  my 


428  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

friend  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parker  beside  me,  with  all  his  learning, 
to  find  out  very  easily  the  way  to  heaven  in  any  of  the  bulls 
that  Popes  ever  wrote,  or  in  the  canons  that  Councils  ever 
composed. 

But  he  gives  a  reason  for  his  belief;  and  I  am  always 
thankful  when  a  priest  gives  a  reason.  I  know  they  are  not 
accustomed  to  it.  They  like  to  appeal  to  authority,  or  to 
the  Church;  they  never  like  to  deal  with  reasons;  but 
when  you  can  get  them  to  reason,  I  am  always  thankful, 
because  we  have  then  something  to  grapple  with.  He  says : 
"  Contrary  to  the  express  words  of  Scripture :  '  Even  as 
our  beloved  brother  Paul  also,  according  to  the  wisdom 
given  unto  him,  hath  written  unto  you.  As  also  in  all  his 
epistles,  speaking  in  them  of  those  things ;  in  which  are 
some  things  hard  to  be  understood,  which  they  that  are 
unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  also  the  other 
Scriptures,  unto  their  own  destruction.'     2  Pet.  iii.  15,  16." 

Nov/  his  first  reason  is,  that  the  Scriptures  are  not  a  plain 
book,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  dangerous  book,  for  certain  par- 
ties, unlearned  and  unstable,  did  "  wrest  them  to  their  own 
destruction."  TVe  reply  that  when  we  give  you  the  Bible, 
we  give  it  you  not  to  wrest  it,  but  to  read  it,  to  study  it,  and 
pray  over  it ;  and  if  you  wrest  the  Bible  to  your  own  de- 
struction, surely  to  make  that  an  argument  against  the  right 
use  of  the  Bible  is  as  bad  as  to  say,  "  Your  child  put  its 
hand  into  the  fire,  and  burned  it ;  therefore,  no  fire  shall  be 
in  the  kitchen  or  in  the  drawing-room  for  ever  and  ever :  " 
or  to  say  that  some  person,  by  his  carelessness,  set  fire  to  a 
house,  and  made  that  fire  an  instrument  of  desolation,  and 
therefore,  fire,  instead  of  being  a  blessing,  is  to  be  abhorred 
as  a  calamity.  Would  you  admit  that  reasoning  ?  Would 
any  sober-minded  man,  except  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno,  allow  that 
the  use  of  a  thing  is  to  be  condemned  because  certain  par- 
ties wrest  that  thing  to  their  own  destruction  ? 

But  there  is  more  than  this.    It  is  said  that  these  parties, 


THE   BARNET   DISpUSSION.  429 

in  the  days  of  Peter,  wrested  the  Scriptures  to  their  own 
destruction.  What  does  this  imply  ?  Why,  that  they  read 
them,  or  how  could  they  wrest  them?  But  Dr.  Faa  di 
Bruno  will  not  admit  that  this  is  according  to  the  laws  of 
his  Church ;  for,  according  to  those  laws,  the  Bible,  even  the 
Romish  authorized  version,  is  only  to  be  given  by  special 
license;  it  is  not  to  be  allowed  for  promiscuous  readmg 
among  the  people. 

But  there  is  another  blunder  which  the  Dr.  makes.  You 
will  recollect  that  he  quoted  the  Latin  version  when  he 
referred  to  the  "original;"  never  dreaming  that  the  Greek 
was  the  original  language.  Had  he  known  Greek,  he  would 
have  known  that  the  "  in  which  are  some  things  hard  to  be 
understood"  does  not  mean  in  which  Epistles.  The  "in 
which"  is  not  in  the  feminine  gender,  referring  to  Epis- 
tles—  the  apostle  does  not  say  that  there  are  some  things 
in  the  Epistles  hard  to  be  understood  —  the  word  is  in  the 
neuter  gender  Iv  oJg,  "  in  which  {subjects)  are  things  hard 
to  be  understood."  The  subjects  are  the  subjects  of  proph- 
ecy which  the  apostle  is  specially  referring  to.  For  Dr. 
Fiia  di  Bruno,  therefore,  to  quote  this  as  evidence  that  there 
are  some  things  in  the  Epistles  of  the  apostle  hard  to  be 
understood,  is  to  show  that  happy  knack  of  misquoting  the 
Bible  in  which  Roman  Catholics,  beyond  all  men,  have  ex- 
celled, and  do  excel  at  the  present  moment. 

But  suppose  it  were  what  Dr.  Faa  alleges ;  and  that  the 
passage  meant  that  the  epistles  of  Paul  were  hard  to  be 
understood;  I  ask  are  Popes'  epistles  easy?  Can  Popes 
write  plainer  than  Paul?  Are  they  more  easily  under 
stood?  But  taking  his  own  translation  (which  I  do  not) 
what  is  the  cure  which  the  apostle  prescribes  ?  Let  us  see 
what  he  says  in  this  chapter;  for  Roman  Catholics  have 
another  awkward  habit :  they  always  stop  short  at  the  pas- 
sage they  quote  just  where  it  seems  to  serve  their  purpose, 
and  rarely  go  on  to  the  part  which  would  really  enlighten 


430  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

them  on  the  true  meaning  of  the  writer.  The  apostle  says." 
"  Which  they  that  are  unlearned  and  unstable."  Unlearned 
in  what  ?  Not  in  Greek  and  Latin,  but  unlearned  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Bible.  And  "  unstable : "  people  that  are 
unsettled.  They  "  wrest,"  which  they  have  no  right  to  do, 
for  that  is  the  abuse  of  it,  "  as  they  do  also  the  other  Scrip- 
tures, to  their  own  destruction."  What  cure  does  he  pre- 
scribe ?  "  Ye,  therefore,  beloved,  [speaking  to  Christians,] 
"  seeing  that  ye  know  these  things  before,  beware  lest  ye 
also,  being  led  away  with  the  error  of  the  wicked,  fall  from 
your  own  steadfastness."  Hear  the  cure,  or  the  preventive 
of  wresting  the  Scriptures  to  their  own  destruction  :  "  Groio 
in  grace^  and  in  the  knoivledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.'^  In  other  words,  make  yourselves  more  acquainted 
with  the  Scriptures,  and  then  you  will  not  run  the  risk  of 
wresting  them.  And  this  is  my  prescription  for  Dr.  Faa  di 
Bruno.  Let  him  acquaint  himself  more  with  the  Bible,  and 
he  will  not  blunder  so  much  when  he  quotes  it ;  or  "  wrest " 
it  to  the  service  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  he  has  done  on 
this  platform. 

This  is  the  only  argument  he  assigns  against  the  easiness 
of  the  Scriptures  to  be  understood.  Has  he  proved  his 
point?  Has  he  not  rather  given  me  an  opportunity  of 
showing  how  little  the  Church  of  Rome  has  to  say  for  her- 
self against  the  Bible,  and  how  much  the  Bible  has  to  say 
against  the  Cliurch  of  Rome  ? 

The  next  "  point "  is  No.  2.  "  Protestants  maintain,"  he 
says,  "  that  the  doctrine  of  our  Saviour  and  the  apostles,  as 
to  all  necessary  points,  is  fully  contained  in  the  written 
Word."  This  is  just  what  I  want  to  prove.  You  will  re- 
collect that  I  asked  Dr.  Faa :  "  If  you  have  a  tradition 
which  you  can  prove  to  be  divine,  present  it ;  prove  it  to  be 
so,  and  I  accept  it  as  divine.  If  you  can  show  me  a  sentence 
uttered  by  an  inspired  apostle,  and  prove  it  to  have  been  so 
uttered,  I  accept  it  as  just  as  authoritative  as  a  verse  from 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  431 

the  Bible.**  But  he  presented  none ;  he  proved  nothing. 
He  quoted  the  Creed;  but  I  showed  him  that  the  Creed 
was  given  in  different  words  by  different  Fathers ;  that  it 
was  not  composed  by  the  apostles,  and  was  not,  therefore,  an 
apostolic  tradition,  nor  a  continuous  aud  unvarying  tra- 
dition ;  and  that  unless  he  could  show  me  some  one  thing, 
some  one  doctrine  which  he  could  prove  to  have  been 
uttered  by  an  inspired  apostle,  I  must  still  say  that  the  writ- 
ten Word  contains  all. 

But  he  says :  "  Contrary  to  the  written  Word,  which 
clearly  testifies  that  cJl  is  not  written  which  is  to  be  be- 
lieved." He  then  quotes  2  Thess.  ii.  15.  "Therefore, 
brethren,  stand  fast,  and  hold  the  traditions  which  ye  have 
been  taught,  whether  by  word  or  by  our  Epistle."  Of 
course,  the  Apostle  Paul  first  preached  to  the  Thessalonians, 
and  then  he  wrote  to  them  ;  and  he  bids  them  hold  fast  the 
traditions  which  they  had  been  taught,  either  when  he  vivd 
voce  addressed  them,  or  when  he  afterwards  committed  what 
he  so  ta»'ght  to  writing,  and  embodied  it  in  his  epistles. 
Readinff"  the  passage,  therefore,  I  infer  at  once  that  what 
the  ap'^Ltle  said  orally  he  communicated  to  writing.  At  all 
events  there  are  two  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians ;  and  we 
presume  that  if  there  was  any  thing  important,  the  apostle 
embodied  it  in  them  —  that  he  left  out  nothing  that  was  of 
any  real  importance  to  our  salvation.  First,  then,  there  is 
no  tradition  that  ever  I  could  lay  my  hand  on  that  could  be 
proved  to  be  apostolic ;  and,  secondly,  there  is  no  evidence 
that  the  apostle  excluded  from  his  Epistle  what  he  stated 
vivd  voce,  when  he  preached  to  the  Thessalonians,  and  if  he 
did,  we  ask  Dr.  Faa  to  produce  Paul's  vivd  voce  teaching  as 
distinct  from  his  written  teaching,  Dr.  Faa's  reasoning  is  a 
perfect  non  sequitur :  it  does  not  prove  the  point  for  which 
he  quotes  it. 

The  Dr.  next  lays  down  "  point "  3.  "  Protestants  hold 
that  every  private  man  and  woman  among  the  laity,  has  a 


432  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

right  which  no  authority  on  earth  can  deprive  them  of,  to 
judge  of  the  sense  of  Scripture,  and  interpret  it  for  them- 
selves." The  phraseology  of  this  I  demur  to.  Every  man 
has  a  right  which  God  has  given  him  to  have  the  Bible. 
For  what  is  the  Bible  ?  A  letter  from  my  Father  to  me,  his 
child ;  and  no  man  has  a  right  to  say :  "  Your  Father's 
letter  to  you  his  child  you  shall  not  read."  No  man  has  a 
right  to  come  and  say :  "  You  shall  look  at  that  letter,  but 
you  shall  put  on  my  green,  blue,  or  dim  spectacles  through 
which  to  read  it."  I  assert  that  I  have  a  right  to  read  it 
with  my  own  eyes,  because  God  has  given  it  me ;  and, 
therefore,  if  angel  or  saint,  as  I  told  you  before,  were  to 
offer  me  their  services  in  reading  God's  word,  I  would  de- 
cline them.  I  must,  as  the  Patriarch  of  old  told  his  ser- 
vants, tell  father,  and  doctor,  and  Pope,  and  priest  to  stand 
at  the  bottom  of  the  mount,  whilst  I  go  up  alone  to  its  sunlit 
pinnacle,  and  there  speak  and  hear  face  to  face  with  my 
Father  and  my  God  as  he  has  permitted.  I  will  not  consent 
to  look  at  the  Bible  second  hand.  No  farthing  candle  for 
me,  when  the  big  sun  shines  from  the  sky !  No  canonized 
urns  and  cups  for  me,  when  the  open  fountains  of  the  earth 
are  accessible,  and  the  great  ocean  rolls  at  my  feet !  I  want 
no  crutch  to  walk  with  when  I  can  walk  alone  in  the  way 
that  God  has  pointed  out,  seeking  direction  from  that  blessed 
Spirit  who  has  promised  to  lead  me  unto  all  truth. 

But  the  Dr.  adds  this  passage :  "  Knowing  this  first,  that 
no  prophecy  of  the  Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpre- 
tation." The  whole  dispute  about  that  has  arisen  about  the 
meaning  of  the  word  smXvCEcog,  which  is  rendered  (I  think 
erroneously)  "interpretation."  It  means,  of  no  private 
loosing,  unfolding,  I  think  fairly  "  application  :  "  "  is  of  no 
private  application."  So  the  reason  assigned  proves,  "  For 
the  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost."  The  meaning  is,  that  no  prophecy  describes 
specific    individual    circumstances  applicable  only  to  the 


THE   BAENET   DISCUSSION.  433 

prophet  that  uttered  it,  as  if  he  were  speaking  of  his  own 
matters,  in  his  own  spirit,  for  his  own  purposes ;  but,  being 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  for  catholic,  gen- 
eral, universal  use.  But  I  take  the  words  just  as  he  quoted 
them :  "  No  prophecy  of  Scripture  is  of  any  private  inter- 
pretation." The  apostle,  you  observe,  is  not  speaking  of 
the  Scriptures  generally,  but  of  prophecy.  We  Protestants 
agree  that  there  are  great  difficulties  in  the  interpretation  of 
prophecies  relating  to  the  future,  and  I  think  the  Roman 
Catholics  do  not  disagree  with  us ;  and  all  that  that  text 
would  prove,  if  it  meant  that  we  were  not  privately  to  read, 
and  that  we  could  not  personally  understand,  would  do  so  as 
far  as  it  applies  to  unfulfilled  prophecy.  But  we  are  not 
discussing  unfulfilled  prophecy,  but  the  reading  and  the 
understanding  of  God's  plain  written  Word ;  and,  on  this 
ground  alone  I  meet  the  objection.  But  the  reason  assigned 
by  the  sacred  penman  shows  the  nature  of  it :  "  For  the  holy 
men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
That  is,  the  Lord  of  the  universe  inspired  them  to  utter 
these  prophecies,  not  for  any  private  purposes,  or  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  Prophet's  circumstances,  case,  or  condition,  but 
for  the  universal  good  and  use  and  -well-being  of  the  Church 
Universal. 

The  next  point  mentioned  by  Dr.  Faa  is,  "  Protestants 
deny  that  in  controversies  and  disputes  of  religion,  we  are 
bound  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  Pastors  of  the 
Church ;  but  they  hold  that  the  contending  parties  ought  to 
consult  the  Scriptures,  and,  that  each  party  has  a  right  to 
decide  the  controversy  by  the  written  Word,  as  each  one 
shall  expound  it  to  the  best  of  his  judgment."  All  that  is 
language  put  into  our  mouths.  We  do  not  say  we  are  to 
interpret  Scripture  for  ourselves.  We  say  it  is  our  right  to 
have  it,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  read  it  in  reliance  on  the  Spirit 
of  God,  answerable  to  Him  alone  for  the  conclusions  to 
which  we  come.  We  say,  the  rule  of  faith  is  not  the  Bible 
37 


434  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

expounded  by  A,  or  expounded  by  B,  or  the  Bible  as  held 
by  the  Church  of  England,  or  as  held  by  the  Scotch  Church, 
or  any  other  body,  but  it  is  the  Bible  alone  that  is  the  rule 
of  faith.  Do  not  forget  this.  It  is  not  the  Bible  held  by 
me,  or  the  Bible  held  by  you ;  but  it  is  the  Bible  and  the 
Bible  alone  which  is  to  be  our  rule  of  faith. 

Then  he  says  :  "  Contrary  to  many  texts  of  the  written 
Word  of  God,  such  as  '  As  my  Father  sent  me,  even  so 
send  I  you.'  *  He  that  heareth  you  heareth  me,  and  he  that 
despiseth  you  despiseth  me,  and  he  that  despiseth  me  de- 
spiseth  him  that  sent  me.'  '  But  if  he  neglect  to  hear  the 
Church  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  pub- 
lican.' '  Which  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar 
and  ground  of  the  truth.'  " 

First,  we  do  at  once  say,  that  we  do  object  to  be  bound 
to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  Pastors  of  the  Church,  as 
if  they  were  our  rule  of  faith  and  the  infallible  guides  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  And  w^e  do  so  on  the  following  grounds. 
In  the  first  place,  we  are  not  sure  that  all  the  Pastors  of 
Ihe  Church  are  what  they  ought  to  be,  and  for  the  very 
obvious  reason  that  the  apostle  himself  tells  us :  "  After  my 
departing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you."  How 
do  I  know  that  a  pastor  —  how  do  I  know  that  Dr.  Jb'aa  di 
Bruno  (I  do  not  say  that  he  is,  very  far  from  it)  is  not  one 
of  those  wolves  the  apostle  speaks  of.  "  After  my  depart- 
ing shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing 
the  flock.  Also  of  your  own  selves "  [the  clergy]  "  shall 
many  arise  and  speak  perverse  things  to  draw  away  dis- 
ciples." Now  then,  knowing  this,  that  ministers  should 
become  corrupt,  depraved,  and  ignorant,  it  cannot  be  meant 
and  designed  by  God  in  his  holy  Word,  that  I  am  to  accept 
their  dicta  as  the  means  of  my  salvation.  If  I  have  His 
word  in  my  hand  repeating  to  me  this  remarkable  language : 
"  If  we,  or  any  angel  from  heaven,  preach  to  you  any  other 
gospel,  let  him  be  anathema ; "  am  I  then  to  take  any  pas- 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  435 

tor's  opinion  as  my  creed  when  I  have  ringing  in  my  ears 
these  words?  "If  we,"  that  is,  the  apostle,  if  that  were 
possible,  —  "  or  an  angel  from  heaven  "  —  not  a  bad  angel 
that  you  might  suspect,  but  one  clothed  with  the  radiance  of 
heaven,  and  holy  as  the  inhabitants  are ;  —  if  that  angel 
should  preach  any  other  Gospel,  let  him  be  anathema." 
What  does  all  this  imply  ?  That  laymen,  Christian  laymen, 
do  know  what  the  Gospel  is.  How  could  the  apostle  say  to 
the  Galatian  laity,  "  If  an  angel  preach  to  you  any  other 
Gospel,  let  him  be  anathema,"  if  he  did  not  mean  by  that 
that  the  laity  were  capable  of  saying:  "This  is  the  Gospel, 
preached  by  A ;  that  is  not  the  Gospel  preached  by  B  ? ' 
How  eould  he  say,  "  Judge  if  it  be  so,"  if  it  did  not  imply 
that  they  had  some  means  of  determining  what  was  the 
Gospel,  and  what  was  not  —  namely,  the  Bible;  and  that 
the  Bible  was  an  intelligible  book :  for  how  could  they  de- 
termine from  the  Bible  what  was  the  Gospel,  and  what  was 
not,  if  that  Bible  was  unintelligible  ?  I  hold,  then,  that  as 
long  as  this  text  remains  in  the  Bible,  I  cannot  submit  to 
the  pastors  of  any  church  as  infallible  guides  to  heaven, 
however  much  I  value  them.  You  know  there  was  a  Judas 
among  the  twelve  apostles ;  and  was  he  fit  to  teach  me  the 
way  to  heaven  ? 

Then  he  quotes  the  text :  "  If  he  neglect  to  hear  the 
Church  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  publi- 
can." I  am  amazed  at  the  great  ignorance  Roman  Catho- 
lics show  of  the  Bible.  They  may  know  canons  and  Coun- 
cils very  well ;  but  when  they  come  to  open  the  Bible,  they 
constantly  blunder.  This  is  another  specimen  of  the  blun- 
ders made  by  Dr.  Faa  on  this  very  subject.  He  says  that 
one  reason  for  our  hearing  the  Church  is,  that  "  If  he  neg- 
lect to  hear  the  Church  [that  is,  on  matters  of  controversy, 
for  as  such  he  quotes  it]  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  a  heatlien 
man  and  a  publican."  Now  let  me  read  the  whole  of  the 
passage;  and  I  ask   you  to  notice,  in  analyzing  it,  if  it 


436  THE    EARNET    DISCUSSION. 

speaks  of  doctrine  at  all.  Recollect,  Dr.  Faa  quotes  the 
passage  to  prove  that  in  matters  of  doctrine  we  are  to  hear 
and  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  pastors  of  the  Church. 
"  If  thy  brother  shall  trespass  against  thee  "  —  trespass : 
a  quarrel,  —  if  he  smite  you,  if  he  steal  from  you,  if  he  say 
any  thing  bad  about  you  — "  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  be- 
tween thee  and  him  alone :  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast 
gained  thy  brother.  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  then  take 
with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or 
three  witnesses  every  word  may  be  established.  And  if  he 
shall  neglect  to  hear  them,  tell  it  unto  the  Church."  What 
is  to  be  told  to  the  Church  ?  A  doctrinal  dispute  ?  Not  a 
word  about  it ;  but  a  quarrel  between  two  private  Chris- 
tians. "  But  if  he  neglect  to  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be 
to  thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  publican." 

But  suppose  I  were  to  say  that,  in  any  one  sense  that 
Dr.  Faa  likes,  I  am  to  go  to  the  Church,  what  does  he 
mean  by  the  Church  ?  He  will  answer,  the  whole  company 
of  the  faithful,  wdth  the  Pope  at  its  head,  and  cardinals,  and 
bishops,  and  priests,  governing  it.  Now  this  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church  is  spread  far  and  wide ;  for  the  apostasy  "  sits 
upon  many  waters;"  and  "tongues  and  multitudes"  follow 
her :  Christ's  flock  is  the  few ;  it  is  the  "  little  flock  "  as 
long  as  this  dispensation  lasts.  How,  then,  am  I  to  hear  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  ?  I  cannot  hear  all  the  bishops  at 
once.  How  could  I  summon  them?  If  I  and  my  dear 
brother  and  friend  here  were  to  quarrel  (as  we  never  do) 
how  could  we  settle  our  dispute  by  hearing  the  Church  ?  I 
cannot  call  the  Popes  and  all  the  bishops  together  to  settle 
my  quarrel ;  and  they  would  very  much  langh  at  me,  if  I 
were  to  ask  them.  How,  then,  am  I  to  hear  the  Church  ? 
Does  he  say  I  am  to  go  to  the  priest  ?  He  is  a  fallible  indi- 
vidual, and  not  the  Church.  Am  I  to  go  to  the  bishop  ? 
He  is  fallible  too,  and  only  a  bishop  of  the  Church.  To  the 
Pope?     He  is  only  infallible  in  Italy  —  he  won't   do   in 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  437 

England;  he  is  out  of  his  latitude  and  longitude  here. 
There  is  something  in  the  fine  air,  something  in  the  sun- 
shine, something  in  the  waters  of  the  Tiber,  something  in 
the  mesmeric  chair  in  which  he  sits  that  makes  all  he  emits 
there  to  be  absolutely  infallible ;  but  the  instant  he  comes 
upon  this  old,  heretical,  dogged  soil,  every  thing  he  utters  is 
as  fallible  as  that  which  I  or  any  other  minister  may  utter. 
Now,  there  has  not  been  a  General  Council  since  1564. 
The  Church  has  been  dead  three  hundred  years,  and  will 
not  live  again  until  another  General  Council  is  called.  How, 
then,  can  I  hear  the  Church  ?  Dr.  Faa  was  silent  when  I 
put  the  question  to  him ;  and  his  successor  may  be  silent 
still  when  the  question  is  put  again:  if  either,  however, 
should  give  an  answer,  I  shall  be  happy  to  reply  to  it. 

The  next  passage  quoted  by  the  Doctor  is  1  Timothy  iii. 
14,  15.  "Which  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  Now,  where  does  this  pas- 
sage occur?  In  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  Timothy.  He  says 
the  Church  is  the  pillar  of  the  truth.  The  query  is,  which 
Church  ?  This  query  is  all  quietly  concealed."^  If  you  will 
read  through  the  tract,  you  will  see  that  Dr.  Faa,  with 
hiimitable  modesty,  assumes  that  the  Church,  whenever  it  is 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,  means  the  Church  of  Rome.  But 
this  is  just  the  matter  in  dispute.  We  deny  that  the  Church 
of  Home  is  the  Church  ;  and  we  deny  it  on  the  plain  ground 
which  I  have  assigned  before  —  that  Christ  says :  "  Go, 
teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoevisr  I  commanded  you,  and  lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,  to  the  end  of  the  world."  Does  not  that 
promise  mean  that  if  we  ministers  teach  all  that  Christ 
commanded,  then  we  shall  have  Christ's  presence  to  support 
us  ?  But  if  we  do  not  teach  what  Christ  commanded,  then 
we  lose  Christ's  presence  ;  and  where  Chiist  is  not,  there  is 
no  Church.  An  architect  can  build  a  cathedral ;  a  builder 
37* 


438  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

can  raise  a  large  house :  but  it  is  only  the  Queen  coming 
into  that  house  tha*  can  make  it  a  palace ;  it  is  only  Christ 
coming  into  that  cathedral  that  can  make  it  a  church.  It  is 
not  the  stones  and  mgrtar  that  make  the  church  ;  but  it  is : 
"  Wheresoever  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name."  If  we  would  look  more  at  the  Bible,  and  less  at 
succession,  and  Catholic  antiquity,  and  Fathers,  and  Coun- 
cils, and  all  this  miserable  twaddling,  which  is  outside  all 
that  is  vital,  and  essential,  and  decisive  —  if  we  would  look 
much  more  at  our  Bible,  many  of  our  thoughts  about  the 
Church  would  be  reduced  to  a  very  little  compass.  I  be- 
lieve the  normal  idea  of  a  Church  is  (while  to  this  may  be 
added  what  is  necessary  for  decency,  for  order,  for  disci- 
pline ;  these  things  being  most  proper  :)  "  wheresoever  two 
or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in 
the  midst  of  them."  Dr.  Faa  assumes  that  the  Church  spo- 
ken of  throughout  all  these  passages  is  the  Church  of  Home. 
But  then  w^e  show  you  that  she  has  lost  the  promise  of 
Christ's  presence,  and  therefore  lost  the  very  character  of  a 
Church:  because  she  does  not  teach  all  that  Christ  com- 
manded, and  his  Church  is  therefore  at  once  excluded. 
Christ  said  that  the  people  were  all  of  them  to  drink  of  the 
cup ;  Dr.  Faa  dares  not  give  the  cup  to  any  lay  person  in 
his  congregation.  Christ  said  that  a  bishop  may  be  the  hus- 
band of  one  wife ;  no  bishop,  nor  Dr.  Faa  himself,  does 
marry  one  w^ife,  any  more  than  he  dares  marry  half  a  dozen. 
Therefore,  they  are  not  teaching  what  Christ  commanded ; 
but  teaching,  as  I  might  show  you  at  length,  the  very  re- 
verse. Hence  the  Church  of  Rome  has  forfeited  her  claim 
to  be  a  Church  at  all :  she  is  the  apostasy ;  and  the  longer  I 
live  the  more  I  am  convinced  she  is  really  and  truly  so. 

But  there  is  more  than  this,  "  the  Church  in  this  passage 
quoted  from  Timothy  is  not  yet  determined."  What  Cliurch 
was  Paul  speaking  of?  The  Church  of  Ephesus,  where 
Timothy  was  bishop.     "  How  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thy- 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  439 

self  (Timothy)  in  tlie  house  of  God  which  is  the  Church  of 
the  hving  God"  —  that  is,  the  Church  of  which  he  was  the 
head,  or  chief  minister.  This  Church,  the  Church  of  Ephe- 
sus,  is  extinct.  To  apply  this  to  the  Church  of  Rome  is 
manifestly  to  misapply  it.  These  passages,  then,  which  he 
quotes,  do  not  prove  his  fourth  point ;  and  we  dispose  of  it 
as  "  not  proven,"  as  we  call  it  in  Scotland. 

The  Dr.'s  next  argument  is  point  5.  "  Protestants  hold 
that  the  Church  of  Rome,  though  once  the  true  Church  of 
Christ,  was  become  so  impure  and  corrupt  in  her  doctrine, 
when  the  Reformation  set  out,  that  she  is  wghtly  judged  to 
be  the  whore  of  Babylon,  mentioned  by  St.  John  in  the 
Revelation,  '  who  hath  made  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  and 
all  people  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication.' " 

So  we  do.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  if  the  picture  of  that 
woman  given  in  the  Apocalypse  —  and  I  am  quite  ready, 
whenever  Dr.  Faa  will  meet  me,  to  prove  it  —  of  all  her 
sorceries,  idolatries,  wickednesses,  and  superstitions,  were 
printed  in  the  Hue  and  Cry,  there  is  not  an  informer  in 
England,  acquainted  with  the  Romish  Church,  who  would 
not  pounce  upon  the  Church  of  Rome  as  the  very  personage 
that  answers  exactly  to  the  picture. 

He  says  this  is  contrary  to  the  words  of  the  Bible,  and 
quotes  Eph.  v.  24,  "  As  the  Church  is  subject  unto  Christ, 
so  let  wives  be  to  their  own  husbands  in  every  thing.  Hus- 
bands, love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  loved  the  Church, 
and  gave  himself  for  it :  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse 
it  by  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word.  That  he  might 
present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and 
without  blemish.'  Observe  first,  how  he  again  quietly  as- 
sumes that  the  Church  here  spoken  of  is  the  Church  of 
Rome  ;  but  any  Protestant  has  as  good  a  right  to  say,  it  is 
the  Church  of  England;  and  any  other  might  say  it  is 
the  Independent,  the  Baptist,   or   the  "Wesleyan    Church; 


440  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

another  miglit  say,  it  is  the  Greek  Church,  and  another,  the 
Syriac  Church ;  and  the  Church  of  Rome  cannot  say  why 
it  should  not  be  applied  to  any  one  of  these  just  as  much  as 
to  herself.  But  Dr.  Faa  assumes  the  very  thing  which  we 
dispute  —  that  it  is  the  Church  of  Rome  here  that  is  spoken 
of.  Then  again,  he  is  ignorant  (for  he  does  not  assume 
here)  of  a  mighty  distinction  which  exists.  They  are  "  not 
all  Israel  who  are  of  Israel.  The  Church  visible  compre- 
hends "  sheep  and  goats,"  "  tares  and  wheat,"  "  good  fishes 
and  bad  ; "  but  the  true  Church,  chosen  in  Christ  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  washed  in  his  blood,  the  bride  of 
the  Lamb,  the  election  according  to  grace,  the  "living 
stones,"  the  "  holy  nation,"  the  "  chosen  generation,"  the 
"  peculiar  people "  —  that  is,  the  inner  Church  for  which 
the  outer  Church  exists ;  and  of  that  body  it  is  said  that 
Christ  loved  it,  and  washed  it  in  his  blood,  and  will  present 
it  to  himself.  But  if  this  means  the  visible  Church,  then 
Dr.  Faa  must  conclude  that  every  member  of  the  Church 
must  be  saved ;  but  no  Roman  Catholic,  even  in  his  wildest 
enthusiasm,  will  admit  that.  He  must  admit,  if  he  apply 
these  words  to  his  Church,  that  Judas,  who  partook  of  the 
communion,  was  saved ;  he  must  admit  that  bad  priests  who 
have  lived  and  died  in  it  —  that  bad  popes,  notoriously  bad 
and  wicked,  who  have  lived  and  died  in  it  —  that  all  will  be 
cleansed,  and  presented  to  Christ  "  without  spot  or  wrinkle 
or  any  such  thing."  But  by  assuming  here  that  this  is  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  he,  of  course,  believes  that  that  Church 
is  without  spot  or  wrinkle.  Those  of  you  who  were  present 
when  the  discussion  took  place  will  remember  that  I  gave 
you  some  descriptive  particulars  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
Now,  the  Church  described  by  the  apostle  is  a  Church 
"  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing."  Let  me  give 
you  a  picture  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  the  10th  century, 
not  sketched  by  a  Protestant,  but  a  Roman  Catholic  histo- 
rian —  the  standard  historian  of  the    Church   of  Rome  — 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  441 

namely,  Baronius.  What  does  he  say  ?  "  What  was  the 
face  of  the  whole  Church  in  this  century  ?  How  foul  was  it 
when  sordid  women  ruled  at  Rome,  at  whose  will  the  sees 
were  changed,  and  bishops  were  presented ;  and,  what  is 
horrible  to  hear,  false  pontiffs,  their  lovers,  were  intruded 
into  the  chair  of  St.  Peter :  for  who  can  affirm  that  men 
illegally  intruded  by  wicked  women  of  this  sort  were  Roman 
Pontiffs  ?  "  And  he  goes  on  to  describe  that  such  was  the 
picture  of  the  Church  in  that  age  that  it  was  more  like  the 
apostasy  than  any  thing  else ;  and  he  adds :  "  Let  not,  there- 
fore, men  be  astonished  if  they  perceive  the  abomination  of 
desolation  standing  in  the  temple  ;  whereas  we  ought  rather 
to  wonder,  and  recognize  the  divine  power,  since  the  deso- 
lation of  the  temple  did  not  directly  follow  that  abomination, 
as  was  the  case  formerly."  You  have  the  picture  here  by 
themselves ;  and  you  have  the  picture  of  the  Church  by  an 
apostle.  Is  there  any  identity  between  them  ?  The  two 
need  but  to  be  compared  to  convince  us  that  if  the  Church 
of  the  apostle  be  the  Church,  the  Church  of  Baronius,  of 
Pius  IX.,  and  of  Dr.  Faa,  must  be  the  Apostasy. 

But  he  argues  from  St.  Paul's  description  of  the  Church, 
that  it  should  be  "  holy,  without  spot,  without  blemish ; " 
that  the  Church  of  Rome,  once  pure,  could  not  be  expected 
to  have  become  impure.  Let  me  give  you  the  following 
text  from  Romans  xi.  20.  The  Apostle  Paul  wrote  an 
Epistle  to  the  Church  of  Rome  when  she  was  pure ;  and, 
notice,  what  he  seems  to  imply  might  possibly  be  the  case. 
He  says  (speaking  to  the  Church  of  Rome)  :  "  Be  not  high- 
minded,  but  fear  ;  for  if  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches, 
take  heed  lest  he  also  spare  not  thee.  Behold,  therefore, 
the  goodness  and  severity  of  God:  on  them  which  fell, 
severity ;  but  toward  thee,  goodness,  if  thou  continue  in  his 
goodness  ;  otherwise,  thou  also  shalt  be  cut  offl"  Dr.  Faa 
says,  it  is  impossible  that  the  Roman  Church,  Once  pure, 
should  become  impure;  but  the  apostle  assumes  that  she 


442  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

will  SO  change,  warns  her  of  that  change,  and  tells  her  on 
what  footing  she  stands. 

In  the  sixth  point,  he  says,  the  Pope  is  not  Antichrist, 
because  there  are  many  clear  texts  of  the  Bible  to  the  con- 
trary. 2  Thess.  ii.  4.  "  Who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself 
above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped ;  so  that 
he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself 
that  he  is  God."  Then  he  remarks :  "  Let  Protestants  say, 
which  of  the  Popes,  for  the  last  thousand  years  or  up- 
wards, did  declare  himself  to  be  God  "i "  There  is  a  very 
clever  ruse  here ;  he  has  acted  skilfully  indeed ;  if  as 
honestly  and  truly,  as  skilfully,  it  would  have  done  him 
credit.  The  apostle  does  not  say  that  any  Pope  "  declared 
himself  to  be  God  ;  "  but  that  he  "  shows  himself  that  he  is 
God  "  —  that  is,  doing  deeds  which  imply  the  assumption  of 
the  power  and  prerogatives  of  Deity.  But  the  Doctor  turns 
round,  and  says,  ''  Show  me  the  Pope  that  ever  declarea 
himself  to  be  God."  We  never  said  that  any  Pope  declared 
himself  to  be  so ;  although  there  are  strange  expressions 
Popes  have  used,  and  many  pretensions  Popes  have  made, 
very  much  in  this  direction,  which  I  could  quote  if  time  per- 
mitted. But  we  do  not  here  say  that  any  Pope  declared 
himself  to  be  God  (whether  true  or  not,  that  is  not  my 
charge)  ;  but  we  say  that  the  Pope  sits  in  the  temple  of 
God,  showing  himself  as  if  he  were  God.  When  Pius  IX. 
was  elected,  where  was  he  placed  ?  Before  I  answer  that, 
let  me  explain  what  the  high  altar  is  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 
It  is  that  holy  place  on  which  the  priest  pretends  to  bring 
down,  by  the  words  which  he  utters,  the  Lord  Jesus  —  soul 
and  body,  divinity  and  humanity,  God-man  —  to  be  laid  upon 
the  altar,  to  be  sacrificed,  as  an  atonement  made  for  the  sins 
of  the  people.  Now,  when  Pope  Pius  IX.  was  consecrated 
he  was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Cardinals  (according 
to  the  L'  Univers  newspaper,  and  the  description  of  the 
ceremonies  which  are  of  authority  upon  that  subject),  and 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  443 

was  placed  on  the  high  altar  just  where  Christ  comes  down, 
according  to  their  view,  and  is  sacrificed  ;  the  fumes  of  the 
incense  arose  around  him,  and  all  the  choristers  instantly 
sang  the  "  Te  Deum,"  and  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God," 
and  the  Cardinals  fell  down  and  "  adored  him  "  —  I  give 
you  the  authorized  words.  The  Cardinals  adored  the  Pope 
enthroned  upon  the  high  altar,  said  to  be,  in  their  theology, 
the  very  seat  of  God.  Well  now,  this  does  not  say,  that 
the  Pope  says,  "  I  am  God ; "  but  when  he  is  so  seated,  and 
so  adored,  and  so  incensed,  and  so  celebrated,  certainly  he 
shows  himself  as  if  he  were  God ;  and  that  is  just  what 
Paul  asserts. 

But  he  quotes  another  passage,  1  John  ii.  22.  "  Who  is 
a  liar  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  Christ  ?  He  is  the 
Antichrist  that  denieth  the  Father  and  the  Son."  There 
were  many  Antichrists  ;  but  all  that  we  argue  is  that  there 
is  one  distinctive  permanent  one,  specified,  according  to  my 
view,  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  If  the 
Church  of  Rome  denied  the  Father  and  the  Son,  she  would 
then  be  infidel :  we  do  not  assert  that  of  her ;  but  what 
we  do  say  is,  that  by  implication,  she  does  so.  You  recollect, 
an  infidel  denies  the  Bible,  denies  the  Saviour,  denies  God 
—  we  understand  that :  if  the  Church  of  Rome  did  that, 
there  would  be  no  mystery  about  the  matter ;  but  the 
mystery  of  Romanism  is  that  she  admits  every  truth,  and 
then,  in  deeds,  displaces,  dislodges,  and  destroys  itself:  so 
she  admits  the  Father  and  the  Son  in  theory,  but  indeed 
she  denies  them;  and  the  denial  by  deeds  is  far  more 
eloquent  than  any  denial  by  words.  Then,  as  to  denying 
the  Son,  I  might  show  that  there  have  been  unbelieving 
Popes.  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno  himself  will  admit  that  Pope 
Liberius  was  an  Arian  —  what  we  call  a  Socinian  —  and 
denied  the  deity  of  our  Blessed  Lord.  But  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  discuss  this  here. 

I  now  pass  on  to  point  7.     "  Protestants   hold  that  no 


444:  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

privilege  or  power  was  granted  by  our  Saviour  Christ  to 
St.  Peter  above  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  but  that  they  were 
all  equal  in  power  and  authority ;  and  that  the  Scriptures 
reveal  no  such  things  as  St.  Peter's  supremacy,  nor  conse- 
quently the  supremacy  of  his  successors,  the  Bishops  of 
Rome."  We  do  say  so ;  and  he  states  that  very  distinctly. 
Dr.  Faa  quotes  texts  from  the  Bible  to  show  that  Peter  was 
at  the  head  of  the  apostles:  John  xxi.  15.  "  So  when  they 
had  dined  Jesus  said  to  Simon  Peter,  Simon,  Son  of  Jonas, 
lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  ?  He  saith  unto  him.  Yea, 
Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee.  He  saith  unto  him, 
Feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  unto  him  again  the  second  time, 
Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  ?  He  saith  unto  him. 
Yea,  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee.  He  saith  unto 
him,  Feed  my  sheep."  Ergo,  reasons  Dr.  Faa,  Peter  is  the 
head  of  the  apostles,  and  Pontiff  of  Pome.  It  is  not  clever 
to  quote  such  a  text,  and  then  instantly  to  jump  from  it  to 
the  conclusion  that  Pius  IX.  is  the  great  Pontiff  who  is  the 
head  of  the  Church  Universal  or  Catholic.  Now,  first  let 
me  notice  what  is  immediately  added  to  this  text,  but  which 
the  Dr.  so  quietly  puts  his  thumb  upon;  he  quotes  two 
verses  that  seem  to  satisfy  him,  but  says  nothing  about  the 
next  verse.  And  why?  Because  it  is  said,  "Peter  was 
grieved."  Would  Peter  have  been  grieved  at  being  made 
Pope  and  head  of  the  apostles  ?  He  would  have  felt  hon- 
ored and  rejoiced :  he  would  have  had  a  sense  of  great 
responsibihty,  but  still  he  would  have  felt  honored.  But  it 
is  said  he  was  grieved.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Pope  being 
grieved  that  he  was  made  Pope  ?  Is  there  not  a  scramble 
for  the  office,  quarrelling,  management,  diplomacy,  in  deter- 
mining which  cardinal  shall  be  pope  ?  If  they  rejoice  now, 
and  Peter  was  grieved  then,  they  show  very  little  of  that 
specific  feature  of  the  succession,  whatever  else  they  have 
got.  Our  argument,  therefore,  is  that  there  was  no  such 
appointment  made  here.     But,  in  the  next  place,  how  can  it 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  445 

mean  that  Peter  was  to  root  up,  and  pull  down,  as  Popes 
assume,  —  that  he  was  to  be  the  head  of  the  Universal 
Church  —  to  be  infallible  —  how  can  that  be  proved  by  the 
commission,  "  Feed  my  sheep  ? "  Wliat  has  "  feed  my 
sheep,"  or  "  govern  my  sheep,"  to  do  with  being  the  supreme 
ecclesiastical  despot  of  all  the  churches  of  the  whole  world  ? 
Are  the  sheep  the  clergy?  No;  nobody  says  so.  The 
sheep  are  the  laity.  Then  the  Pope  only  gets  the  rule  over 
the  laity,  and  not  over  bishops  and  priests,  for  the  commis- 
sion is  only  "  feed  my  sheep."  Who  is  the  chief  shepherd  ? 
The  apostle  says,  "  When  the  Chief  Shepherd  shall  appear," 
"  I  am  the  Good  Shepherd,"  "  The  Shepherd  gives  his  life 
for  the  sheep."  Therefore,  in  this  passage  I  cannot  see  the 
least  shadow  of  a  reason  for  constituting  Peter  supreme,  or 
Pope,  or  head  of  the  Church. 

The  next  verse  he  quotes  is  a  more  formidable  one.  "And 
I  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  Peter  (or  rock),  [Here  I  must 
tell  the  Doctor  that  if  he  had  read  the  original  he  would 
not  so  far  have  committed  himself  as  to  have  put  within  a 
parenthesis  this  word  "  roc/:,"]  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it."  On  that  basis  he  founds  the  superstructure  of 
the  Papal  supremacy.  In  the  first  place,  I  may  mention 
that  there  are  two  words  here  deserving  notice ;  Thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  will  I  build  my  church.  The  words 
in  the  original  are  on  au  el  TTiTQog,  y.ai  enl  ravtrj  t>;  TtttQa 
orAodofAi]6(f)  rr]V  By.yXr^6(av  [lov.  Thou  art  JittQog,  and  upon 
this  TiEtQa.  I  will  build  my  church.  It  is  quite  plain,  there- 
fore, that  whatever  be  the  meaning  of  these  words,  there  is 
a  distinction  between  them.  I  have  been  at  the  trouble  the 
last  two  or  three  years  of  reading  through  every  Greek 
classic  authority  I  could  lay  my  hands  on,  to  ascertain  what 
the  real  distinction  is  between  nftQog  and  TtstQa,  a  stone  (Dr. 
Faa  calls  it  a  rock).  Here  is  the  "esult  of  my  search:  In 
the  Iliad  of  Homer  I  find  these  words,  (Book  16,  line  734) 
38 


44G  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

la^fTO  TieiQov  OK^io{:VTu,  "  He  seized  a  sharp  stone." 
Again,  at  the  7th  Book,  line  270,  ^uXojv  /-ivXoeidfi  nergo), 
"  striking  with  a  stone  —  like  a  mill-stone."  iEschylus  speaks 
of  vtqug  itevQwv,  shower  of  stones.  Sophocles  has,  neT(joiai 
).evo\>7]vai,  to  be  stoned  with  stones. 

In  all  these  extracts,  the  word  nergog  is  used.  It  is  used 
for  a  shower  of  stones,  meaning  little  stones  not  larger 
than  one's  hand ;  to  be  stoned  with  stones,  meaning  stones 
that  could  be  thrown  from  a  man's  hand ;  to  seize  a  sharp 
stone  and  fling  it ;  laying  hold  of  a  stone  (the  largest  one 
mentioned),  and  taking  it  in  his  hand  —  a  stone  as  large  as 
a  mill-stone,  which  is  clearly  a  poetic  figure.  In  all  these 
passages,  movable  stones  are  denoted,  nerga  is  the  next 
word.  We  find  it  in  Homer,  ^uXlevv  vtjag  ngog  net  gag,  "to 
drive  the  ships  upon  the  rocks,"  —  that  must  be  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  Again  neiga  atyiXipi  "a  steep  rock:" 
X^^^og  Xeiog  nergaov^  "a  country  free  from  rocks."  Again, 
in  the  Iliad,  neiga  yXaqvgrj,  "a  hollow  rock."  All  the 
translations  of  ueiga.  mean  a  rock.  What,  therefore,  is  the 
distinction  in  this  passage?  av  fig  Tlixgog  —  "Thou  art  a 
little  stone ;  and  on  thee,  Peter,  if  I  were  to  build  my 
church,  it  would  fall."  Therefore  he  adds  Kai-  ent  tolvit^  ti] 
neiga  OinodofxrjGco  uji'  fiiyi?<.7]otav  f^iov  —  "It  is  upon  this 
great,  imbedded,  immovable,  eternal  rock  (pointing  to  him- 
self) that  I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it."  If  I  wanted  a  passage,  then,  to 
prove  the  fallacy  of  the  doctrine  of  Peter's  supremacy,  I 
should  take  this  very  passage.  Compare  it  with  parallel 
passages :  "  Behold,  I  build  in  Zion  a  foundation  stone." 
"  To  whom  coming  as  unto  a  living  stone,  disallowed  indeed 
of  men."  "  Ye  also  are  built  up,  living  stones,"  referring  in 
all  these  passages  to  Christ.  He  says  :  "  I  will  build  my 
church."  Dr.  Faa  here  assumes  that  the  church  in  this 
passage  means  the  Church  of  Rome,  which,  of  course,  we 
dispute.     The  word  rendered  church  is  f/.yMjOiav.     The 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  4i7 

same  word  is  used  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  xix.  32, 
wliere  it  says  "the  whole  assembly  was  confused."  The 
word  is  used  by  classic  writers  in  the  sense  of  "  assembly." 
Thucydides  has  nuUtv  i'Ay.h]Oiuv  "to  constitute  a  house ;" 
just  as  we  say  it  needs  so  many  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons  to  "  make  a  house."  All  it  means  is  "  company." 
You  have,  then,  Christ,  the  living  stone ;  and,  raised  upon 
it,  living  stones,  or  believers,  and  the  Church  of  Christ  as 
the  whole  company  of  justified,  regenerated,  sanctified,  be- 
lieving people,  built  upon  Christ,  the  chief  corner  and 
foundation  stone,  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  (that  is, 
extinction)  never  shall  prevail.  The  passage,  therefore, 
does  not  prove  the  point  for  which  the  Doctor  quoted  it. 

The  Doctor's  eighth  point  is :  "  Protestants  hold  that  the 
saints  deceased  know  not  what  passes  here  on  earth,  and 
that  they  cannot  hear  the  petitions  which  we  address  to 
them  when  we  implore  their  intercessions."  Whether  they 
hear  or  not,  is  not  the  question.  Should  we  pray  to  them  ? 
Our  position  is,  that  we  have  no  business  praying  to  them. 
The  passage  he  quotes  to  prove  that  they  do  hear  petitions 
is  Luke  xv.  7.  "  I  say  unto  you  that  likewise  joy  shall  be 
in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more  than  over 
ninety  and  nine  just  persons,  which  need  no  repentance." 
"  Likewise  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of 
the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  And  he 
adds  :  "  The  angels  in  heaven,  therefore,  know  when  a  sin- 
ner repents."  The  best  way  to  confute  a  Roman  Catholic 
is  to  refer  to  the  passage  he  quotes.  Let  me  ask  you  to 
refer  to  this  very  passage ;  and  mark  what  the  argument  is. 
It  is  argued  by  my  opponent,  that  there  is  joy  among  the 
angels  over  a  sinner  that  repenteth,  and  therefore  the  angels 
know  what  is  done  upon  the  earth,  or  how  could  they  rejoice 
when  the  fact  transpires.  The  passage  says:  (ver.  4.) 
"  What  man  of  you  having  an  hundred  sheep,  if  he  lose 
one  of  them,  doth  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the  wil- 


448  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

derness,  and  go  after  that  which  was  lost,  until  he  find  it  ? 
And  when  he  hath  found  it,  he  layeth  it  on  his  shoulders 
rejoicing,  and  when  he  cometh  home  he  calleth  together  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  saying  unto  them,  Rejoice  with  me ; 
for  I  have  found  my  sheep  which  was  lost.  I  say  unto  you 
that  likewise  joy  shall  be  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth  more  than  over  ninety  find  nine  just  persons  which 
need  no  repentance."  The  other  passage  is  :  "  Either  what 
woman  having  ten  pieces  of  silver,  if  she  lose  one  piece 
doth  not  light  a  candle,  and  sweep  the  house,  and  seek  dili- 
gently till  she  find  it?  And  when  she  hath  found  it,  she 
calleth  her  friends  and  her  neighbors  together,  saying, 
Rejoice  with  me ;  for  I  have  found  the  piece  which  I  had 
lost.  Likewise  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence 
of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  You 
will  notice  that  when  the  shepherd  has  lost  his  sheep,  he 
goes  after  it  and  finds  it ;  but  how  do  his  friends  know  that 
he  has  found  it  ?  He  "  calls  them  together  and  tells  them." 
Exactly  in  the  same  way,  it  is  added,  there  is  joy  among  the 
angels  ;  that  is,  as  the  man  who  recovers  his  lost  sheep,  calls 
his  friends  together  and  tells  them  of  the  fact :  so  the  great 
and  good  Shepherd,  when  he  has  recovered  a  lost  sinner, 
tells  the  angels  so,  and  then  they  rejoice :  the  very  passage 
proving  that  instead  of  knowing  it,  they  know  nothing  at  all 
about  it  till  they  are  told.  This  is  another  specimen  of  Dr. 
Faa  Di  Bruno's  misquoting  Scripture  and  misapplying  it  in 
order  to  prove  his  point. 

The  next  passage  he  quotes  is,  "And  four  and  twenty 
elders  fell  down  before  the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them 
harps  and  golden  phials  full  of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers 
of  saints."  He  says  "  Saints  in  heaven,"  but  it  is  not  said 
so.  This  is  an  apocalyptic  vision.  We  have  here  the 
prayers  of  those  who  are  saints.  Look  at  the  words  in  the 
original,  "  Having  every  one  of  them  harps  and  goldeii 
phials  full  of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers  of  [themselves, 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  449 

their  own  prayers]  the  holy  ones"  Dr.  Faa  assumes  that 
a  saint  is  a  person  canonized  by  the  Pope.  The  Bible 
teaches,  if  a  man  is  a  Christian  he  is  a  saint.  If  he  is  not 
a  saint  he  is  no  Christian  at  all.  There  is  a  gross  idea  that 
I  have  heard  stated,  I  think,  in  one  of  Dr.  Pusey's  papers. 
He  complains,  with  several  other  divines  of  his  school,  that 
it  is  a  pity  that  there  are  not  the  saints  in  the  English 
Church  that  the  Church  of  Rome  has.  He  means  by  that 
expression  the  saints  that  are  put  in  the  Romish  calendar. 
I  could  give  you  instances  of  Romish  saints  —  Santa  Rosa, 
e.  g.  who  used  to  wear  a  girdle  of  hair,  and  spikes  of  iron  ; 
and  because  of  her  atrocious  cruelty  to  herself  she  was 
made  a  saint ;  and  Dominick,  who  helped  to  raise  the  in- 
quisition, which  burned,  slaughtered,  and  persecuted  God's 
people :  this  man  also  was  made  a  saint.  If  these  be  the 
saints  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  what  must  their  sinners  be  ! 
No  language  surely  can  describe  them.  There  is  nothing 
to  show  that  persons  canonized  by  Popes  are  saints  at  all. 
The  Protestant  idea  is  that  all  true  believers  are  the  saints 
of  God ;  they  are  so  through  the  operation  and  regeneration 
of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  other  passage  he  quotes  is  :  "  And  the  smoke  of  the 
incense  which  came  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints  ascended 
up  before  God  out  of  the  angel's  hand."  You  will  see  from 
this  passage  that  no  created  saint  at  all  is  alluded  to.  It  says, 
"  And  another  angel  came  and  stood  at  the  altar  having  a 
golden  censer ;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  much  incense 
that  he  should  offer  it  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints  which 
was  upon  the  golden  altar  which  was  before  the  throne." 
The  Doctor  says  that  was  a  created  angel,  and  therefore  he 
says  angels  hear  the  prayers  of  Christians  upon  earth.  In 
the  first  place  the  imagery  employed  is  borrowed  from  the 
temple  ;  it  is  the  ancient  levitical  imagery  describing  a  great 
fact.  The  personage  who  here  appeared  was  the  high- 
priest  ;  for  this  angel  had  a  golden  censer,  the  other  priests 
38* 


450  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

had  silver  censers,  the  high-priest  alone  having  the  golden 
one.  Now  who  was  the  high-priest  the  type  of?  The  type 
of  Christ  our  High-Priest.  We  read,  "  There  was  given 
unto  him  much  incense  that  he  should  offer  it  with  the 
prayers  of  all  saints  ;  "  —  that  is,  all  believers  since  Adam 
fell,  onwards  to  the  close  of  this  dispensation,  which  no 
created  angel  could  do.  In  the  next  place  he  did  it  upon 
the  golden  altar,  w^hich  the  high-priest  alone  approached,  as 
the  altar  of  incense.  The  conclusion  therefore  is  here  plain, 
that  this  personage  is  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  the  high-priest  interceding  within  the  veil ;  and  not 
any  created  angel  whatever. 

The  next  passage  is  Genesis  xlviii.  16.  "  The  angel  which 
redeemed  me  from  all  evil  bless  the  lads  and  let  my  name 
be  named  on  them,  and  the  names  of  my  fathers  Abraham 
and  Isaac,  and  let  them  grow  unto  a  multitude  in  the  midst 
of  the  earth."  I  will  refer  to  the  passage,  and  show  you 
how  the  Doctor  excels  in  the  happy  talent  I  have  alluded  to, 
of  quoting  the  bit  that  suits  himself,  and  leaving  out  the  bit 
that  directly  refutes  his  argument.  I  will  read  the  passage 
in  its  connection.  "  And  he  blessed  Joseph  and  said,  God 
before  whom  my  fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac  did  walk,  the 
God  which  fed  me  all  my  life  long  unto  this  day,  the  Angel 
which  redeemed  me  from  all  evil  "  [is  not  that  term  angel 
applied  to  God,  the  God  that  fed  him,  the  angel,  the  mes- 
senger, Christ,  the  "  Angel  of  the  Covenant,"  which  re- 
deemed him  from  all  evil  ?]  "  bless "  [singular  number] 
"  the  lads."  There  are  not  two  persons,  but  one ;  but  what 
will  prove  this  satisfactorily  is  a  reference  to  the  prophecy 
of  Hosea,  xii.  4,  where  he  is  describing  the  very  angel  of 
whom  Jacob  speaks.  What  does  he  say  ?  "  Yea,  he  had 
power  over  the  angel  and  prevailed :  he  wept  and  made 
supplication  unto  him :  he  found  him  in  Beth-el,  and  there 
he  spake  with  us  ;  even  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  the  Lord  is 
his  memorial."     Hence  is  the  name  of  the  angel,  "  the  Lord 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  451 

of  Hosts."  If  Dr.  Faa  had  only  read  these  two  passages 
(and  any  Bible  with  parallel  texts  will  show  them)  he 
would  at  once  have  seen  what  a  sad  misquoter  of  Scripture 
he  is,  and  how  ill  off  he  must  be  for  proofs  to  have  recourse 
to  such  passages  as  these  in  order  to  make  good  his  points. 

Then  he  says :  "  Contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  the  holy 
Scripture,  where  we  are  expressly  taught  to  have  recourse 
to  the  prayers  and  intercessions  of  holy  persons.  As  Abim- 
elech  had  recourse  to  Abraham,  and  the  three  friends  of 
Job  to  that  holy  patriarch,  to  pray  for  them :  and  St.  Paul 
for  his  flock."  Surely  it  is  a  different  thing  my  asking  a 
brother  upon  earth  to  pray  for  me,  and  my  petitioning  an 
imaginary  saint,  who,  after  all,  may  not  be  in  heaven  at  all, 
to  pray  for  me.  I  showed  you  that  some  saints  in  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Calendar  were  such  notorious  roues,  so  un- 
christian and  unholy  in  all  that  they  did  that  it  requires  a 
charity  beyond  what  I  can  possibly  feel  to  suppose  they  are 
in  heaven  at  all.  And  therefore  I  may  be  asking  those 
who  may  not  be  there.  But  then  there  is  another  great 
fact  that  settles  it.  All  he  has  quoted  is  a  sort  of  evidence 
that  saints  in  heaven  pray  for  us.  Suppose  it  were  so :  this 
does  not  prove  that  we  are  to  pray  to  them :  that  is  quite  a 
different  thing.  But  do  you  not  recollect  that  when  the 
high-priest  was  in  the  holy  of  holies  where  he  went  to  inter- 
cede for  the  people  he  was  alone.  The  sacrifice  was  offered 
without,  and  after  that  the  priest  went  alone  into  the  holy 
place,  and  alone  interceded  for  the  people,  and  then  came 
out  and  blessed  them.  Now  Christ  has  entered  into  the  true 
holy  place  to  appear  in  heaven  for  us.  As  the  high-priest, 
the  type,  was  in  the  holy  of  holies  alone,  so  Clirist,  alone, 
intercedes  in  heaven  for  those  who  are  here  on  earth. 
Therefore  it  is  most  conclusively  evident  that  there  is  no 
intercession  going  on  for  us  in  heaven  except  that  of  Christ. 
That  beautiful  idea  of  the  high-priest  in  the  holy  place  is 
most  interesting.     It  teaches  what  ought  to  be  our  attitude 


452  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

at  this  moment.  Christ,  without,  (that  is  on  Calvary,)  has 
finished  transgression  by  offering  up  one  complete  sacrifice 
and  oblation  for  the  sins  of  all  that  believe.  The  second 
stage  in  the  high-priest's  course  was  to  go  into  the  holy 
place  alone,  and  there  make  intercession  for  us.  Christ  has 
gone  into  the  holy  place,  and  he  is  now  making  intercession. 
And  what  is  the  third  feature  ?  The  priest  came  forth  and 
blessed  the  people.  And  what  were  the  people  doing  in 
the  interval?  Waiting  with  anxious  expectancy  till  the 
priest  came  to  bless  them.  This  should  be  our  position. 
Christ  has  come  and  suffered.  He  is  now  within  the  veil, 
interceding.  We  ought  to  be  waiting ;  and  if  we  are  the 
children  of  God  we  are  waiting  till  he  come  forth  in  all  his 
glory  and  pronounce  that  grand  benediction  which  will  rise 
to  creation's  heights  and  descend  to  creation's  depths,  on 
which  this  groaning  world  shall  lay  aside  the  ashen  garments 
it  has  so  long  worn,  and,  in  the  v»^ords  of  Martin  Luther, 
put  on  its  Easter  robes,  and  the  world  shall  close,  as  the 
world  began,  with  Paradise.  Never  lose  hold  of  that 
blessed  idea,  that  the  position  of  every  true  Christian  at 
this  moment  should  be  that  of  waiting  till  the  High-Priest 
come  forth  from  his  holy  place  to  bless  the  people. 

O !  bear  in  mind  these  sublime  and  precious  thoughts. 
How  poor  does  Popery  look,  how  does  it  shrivel  into  meagre 
insignificance  beside  the  grandeur  of  the  blessed  truths  that 
tell  us  we  need  no  intermediate  being  between  Christ  and 
us.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  got  the  idea  that  God 
is  still  a  furious  and  avenging  Being,  that  he  is  still  ready 
to  consume  us,  that  he  has  pleasure  in  doing  so,  and  that  he 
watches  for  occasions  to  do  so.  Hence  she  calls  upon  the 
priest  to  offer  a  sacrifice  and  to  pray  to  the  Virgin  to  depre- 
cate his  wrath,  and  to  angels  and  saints  to  step  in  between 
us  and  the  Father  and  Christ  to  keep  back  their  vengeance. 
The  whole  idea  that  runs  through  the  Roman  Catholic  the- 
ology is  that  God  and  the  Saviour  are  offended  beings,  and 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  453 

that  we  need  everybody  we  can  get  to  come  between  us 
and  God  to  keep  back  his  wrath.  If  I  understand  the  Bible 
aright  it  is  that  God  is  in  Christ  a  Father;  that  I  may 
go  to  him  with  all  the  filial  joy,  and  rejoicing,  and  confi- 
dence, Avith  which  a  son  goes  to  a  father ;  and  that  neither 
angel,  nor  saint,  nor  cherubim,  nor  seraphim,  are  so  great 
that  they  may  dare  to  stand  between  me  and  my  Father 
who  has  made  me  his  son.  Our  idea  is  that  there  is  nothing 
to  be  done  to  reconcile  God  to  us,  but  that  we  are  to  be 
reconciled  to  him.  He  invites  us  to  come  to  him  and  be  at 
peace  at  once.  This  idea  is  to  me  delightful.  I  begin 
every  prayer  with  "  My  Father,"  "  Our  Father."  What  a 
beautiful  thought  is  that,  "Our  Father."  We  can  go  to 
God  in  Christ  as  believers,  and  really  say  so.  How  does 
that  alter  every  thing  in  me !  As  long  as  I  do  not  know 
that  God  is  my  father,  so  long  I  look  upon  God  in  the  light 
of  every  thing  that  happens  to  me.  If  afiliction  and  sick- 
ness, loss  of  property,  loss  of  friends,  happen  to  me,  looking 
at  God  in  the  light  of  the  trouble,  I  think*  he  is  an  angry 
being  just  as  the  Roman  Catholic  does ;  but  by  planting  my 
foot  in  the  fatherhood  of  God  —  by  realizing  this  blessed 
thought  that  he  is  my  Father,  then  I  do  not  look  at  God  in 
the  light  of  his  dispensations,  but  I  look  at  the  dispensations 
in  the  light  of  God.  I  do  not  appeal  to  the  dispensation  to 
see  what  God  is ;  but  I  first  see  what  God  is  (my  Father), 
and  then  I  know  what  the  dispensation  is  —  the  manifesta- 
tion of  his  love,  the  expression  of  his  reconciliation  to  me. 
Let  us  endeavor  to  teach  the  Roman  Catholics  this  idea,  that 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  Christ  for  us.  That 
he  gave!  I  have  often  thought  of  that  word.  It  is  not 
said,  that  he  permitted;  that  would  have  been  immense 
love ;  but  it  is  said.  He  gave  Christ,  "  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  on  him  might  not  perish." 

I  do  not  infer  from  that  text  that  God  loves  us  because 
Christ  died  for  us.   I  am  afraid  that  is  the  popular  theology; 


454  THE   BAENET   DISCUSSION. 

I  have  found  it  in  villages  in  the  North,  and  I  dare  say  it 
may  exist  in  villages  here.  Christ  is  not  the  cause  of  God's 
love  to  us,  but  the  evidence  and  the  expi-ession  of  it.  But 
then  you  say,  if  he  loved  us,  why  was  it  necessary  Christ 
should  die  ?  I  answer,  because  God  is  just,  and  holy,  and 
true ;  and  the  only  channel  for  the  egress  of  his  love  must 
be  a  channel  that  would  show  him  to  be  just,  and  holy,  and 
true,  while  he  loved  us,  and  justifies  them  that  believe  in 
Jesus.  Hence,  I  have  always  thought,  that  our  blessed 
Saviour's  sacrifice,  as  a  channel  for  God's  love  to  reach  me, 
is  not  one  whit  more  important  than  our  blessed  Lord  as  the 
evidence  that  God  loves  me.  If  Christ  be  merely  a  pro- 
vision for  God's  love  to.  come  to  me,  then  I  may  be  pardoned, 
and  when  I  enter  heaven  I  may  be  admitted  and  tolerated 
there  as  a  pardoned  sinner,  but  no  more.  If  a  convict  is 
sent  abroad  to  the  Colonies,  and  afterwards  gets  a  free  par- 
don from  the  Queen,  he  comes  back  to  his  own  country ; 
but  you  do  not  very  much  like  him  shoulder  to  shoulder  — 
you  do  not  wish 'to  meet  him  in  society;  he  is  still  a  par- 
doned convict  —  tolerated,  and  legally  so.  If  Christ's  death 
were  only  a  channel  of  God's  love  to  us  —  only  the  means 
of  God's  pardon  reaching  us,  we  should  be  admitted  into 
heaven,  and  tolerated  there,  as  legally  there,  but  no  more ; 
but  when  I  find  that  Christ  is  not  only  the  channel  of  God's 
love  to  me,  but  the  evidence  that  God  loves  me,  then  I  shall 
enter  heaven,  not  a  tolerated  and  forgiven  convict,  but  a 
pardoned,  beloved,  and  adopted  son,  having  all  heaven  for 
my  range,  and  all  the  attributes  of  my  God  and  my  Father 
allied  to  my  happiness. 

It  is  thus  that  I  see  in  these  views  grand  essential  truths, 
that  rend  Romanism,  with  all  its  beggarly  elements,  into 
shreds  and  fragments,  and  leave  not  that  system  one  foot  to 
stand  upon.  If  you  deal  with  Romanists  upon  their  own 
ground — upon  succession,  upon  the  authority  of  the  Church, 
upon  its  antiquity,  upon   its   orders  —  upon   any  of  these 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  455 

grounds,  depend  upon  it,  Rome  will  beat  you ;  you  are  on 
her  own  ground,  and  she  will  master  you.  Every  man  who 
has  set  out  to  fight  her  on  these  grounds  has  retreated,  or 
gone  on,  and  landed  where  so  many  are  landing  at  the  pres- 
ent moment.  But  if  you  will  stand  upon  the  old  ground 
upon  which  the  apostle  stood  —  the  glorious  Gospel,  in  all 
its  fulness,  purity,  and  power,  there  is  not  the  least  fear 
that  any  Roman  Catholic  can  ever  dislodge  you.  So  in- 
finite are  the  inexhaustible  resources  of  this  blessed  Book, 
that,  if  you  know  what  Rome  says,  and  know  your  Bible 
well,  not  only  in  your  head,  but  in  your  heart  —  knowing 
what  the  Gospel  is,  by  having  felt  its  power,  no  Roman 
Catholic,  whatever  be  his  skill  or  talent,  can  be  a  match  for 
you. 

But  I  revert  to  my  point.  We  do  not  need  saints  to 
deprecate  God's  wrath ;  we  need  no  creature  to  come  be- 
tween us  and  our  Father,  but  may  go  to  him  at  once.  What 
did  the  prodigal  son  say  ?  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
father."  Dr.  Faa  di  Bruno  would  have  met  him  half  way, 
and  said,  "  Stop,  my  dear  Sir,  you  must  not  go  there.  First 
kneel  down  and  confess  to  me,  and  then  I  will  absolve  you  ; 
then  I  will  introduce  you  to  the  steward,  and  then  to  the 
head  butler ;  he  will  introduce  you  to  the  father,  and  he  no 
doubt  will  welcome  you."  But  the  prodigal  knew  better  the 
mighty  fulcrum  and  the  mighty  lever  of  a  father's  love  in  a 
father's  heart ;  and  no  priest  could  have  stopped  him.  He 
came,  therefore,  with  the  speed  of  the  lightning,  and  flung 
himself  into  his  father's  bosom,  and  said,  "  Father,  I  have 
sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy  sight ; "  and  the  father 
made  him  instantly  welcome.  Nay,  more ;  I  have  not 
stated  the  full  fact.  The  father  "  saw  him  a  great  way  off." 
How  touching  is  this !  The  father  was  on  the  top  of  his 
house  (one  of  the  flat-roofed  houses  of  the  East)  looking 
out  to  catch  a  gHmpse  of  his  returning  prodigal.  He  saw  a 
speck  in  the  distance  ;  he  saw  it  increasing  and  enlarging,  and 


/ 


456  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

at  last  exclaimed,  "  It  is  like  the  walk,  the  gait,  the  move- 
ments of  my  son."  As  the  sun  shone  brighter,  and  the  features 
of  the  poor  prodigal  became  more  developed,  he  was  convinced 
it  was  his  son,  and  he  ran  out  and  met  him,  and  fell  upon 
his  neck,  needing  no  other  atonement,  no  other  intercessor ; 
he  welcomed  him  home,  put  shoes  on  his  feet,  and  a  ring  on 
his  finger;  bidding  all  rejoice,  "for  my  son  ^vas  dead,  and  ia 
alive ;  was  lost,  and  is  found."  So,  my  dear  friends,  there 
is  not  one  in  tliis  assembly  who  may  not  at  once  rise  and 
say,  "I  will  go  to  my  Father."  And  I  assert,  with  all 
solemnity,  and  with  all  consciousness  of  its  weight,  that 
God  is  infinitely  more  willing  to  accept  you  than  you  are  to 
go  to  him.  It  is  this,  in  my  humble  judgment,  that  makes 
the  sin  of  the  Gospel-refusing  man,  or  the  Gospel-despising 
man,  so  terrible  —  that  it  is  not  a  judge's  sentence,  or  a 
legislator's  law,  but  a  Father's  love,  that  he  is  rebelling 
against.  Until  you  feel  that  great  idea  of  the  fatherhood  of 
God,  and  begin  your  prayers  with  it,  and  take  it  with  you 
through  your  life,  as  the  golden  thread,  you  will  never  know 
what  perfect  peace  is. 

Two  years  ago,  I  was  wandering  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Balmoral  and  Bremar,  where  our  Queen  goes  to  enjoy  the 
fresh  air.  I  have  stood  on  one  of  the  highest  pinnacles  of 
Loch  na  Gar  —  one  of  the  loftiest  hills  of  Dee  side.  "  I 
saw  mountains  all  around  me,  like  gigantic  thrones  ;  and 
the  grandeur  and  the  magnificence  of  the  panorama  made 
me  feel  what  an  insignificant  being  I  am."  I  felt  I  was  a 
grain  amid  the  sands,  a  leaf  of  the  forest,  a  drop  of  the 
mighty  waters.  But  then  I  recollect :  "  The  God  that 
made  these  grand  mountains,  and  stretched  out  that  bright 
sky,  and  gave  their  music  and  their  impulse  to  these  rushing 
streams,  is  my  Father ;  and  I  am  dearer  and  nearer  to  him 
—  every  hair  of  my  head,  every  beating  of  my  heart,  every 
thought  in  my  mind,  and  every  wrong  and  suffering  in  my 
experience ;  and  he  is  more  interested  in  them  than  in  all 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  457 

these  great  mountains,  and  that  bright  sky,  and  these  silver 
streams."  In  that  thought  there  is  joy.  Have  you  not 
seen  a  mother  carrying  a  babe  in  her  bosom ;  and  on  a 
stranger  coming  into  its  presence,  have  you  not  seen  the 
babe,  frightened  at  the  strange  face,  turn  round  and  bury  its 
face  in  its  mother's  bosom  ?  I  have  myself  seen  it.  What 
did  it  mean  ?  "  The  babe  was  applying  to  the  fountain  of 
love  to  refresh  and  strengthen  itself,  that  it  might  gaze  upon 
the  stranger's  face."  So  I  feel  amid  these  hills.  Like  that 
poor  babe,  I  fall  back  upon  my  Father's  bosom,  draw  from 
him  strength  and  peace  that  enable  me  to  look  upon  storm, 
on  cloud,  and  earthquake,  and  to  feel  that  if  these  great  hills 
were  cast  into  the  mighty  sea,  I  should  not  be  afraid,  for 
God  is  not  only  my  Kefuge,  but  my  FAxnEU. 


LECTURE   II. 

I  RISE  to  continue  the  remarks  which  I  began  on  a 
former  part  of  this  day  —  no  longer  upon  Dr.  Faa,  who  is 
not  present,  but  upon  Dr.  Faa's  representative,  which  is 
embodied  in  print  and  paper  in  the  pamphlet  which  lies 
before  me.  I  need  not  recapitulate  the  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  pamphlet  appeared ;  that  the 
"  antidote,"  as  he  calls  it,  to  my  statements,  or  which  he 
pronounced  to  be  error,  was  prepared  before  the  statements 
were  heard.  I  endeavored  to  show  you  the  absurdity  of  this 
arrangement ;  but,  however,  making  every  allowance  for  the 
circumstances  out  of  which  it  arose,  we  have  the  best  de- 
fence of  the  Roman  Catholic  system  put  forward  by  a  priest, 
who  defended  it  first  in  person,  and  has  now  left  this  docu- 
ment as  a  bequest  to  the  people  of  Barnet  (having  himself 
disappeared,  but  whether  permanently,  or  for  a  season,  I 
39 


458  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

cannot  say),  and  it  will  be  but  right  in  me,  and  dutiful  to 
you,  and  to  the  cause  of  truth,  to  analyze,  examine,  and  ex- 
plain it.  I  proceeded  this  morning  through  eight  of  Dr. 
Faa's  "  points,"  in  each  of  which  he  gives  certain  texts  in 
defence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  as  opposed,  in  his 
judgment,  to  Protestant  tenets. 

Point  9  is  as  follows :  "  Protestants  hold  that  the  holy 
relics  of  our  Saviour,  as  the  cross  whereon  he  died,  etc.  or 
the  bodies  and  relics  of  the  saints  ought  not  to  be  honored ; 
and  that  God  does  not  work  miracles  by  them."  I  take  the 
proposition  just  as  he  gives  it.  He  says  that  we  allege  that 
the  relics  of  our  Saviour,  as  the  cross  whereon  he  died,  or 
the  bodies  and  relics  of  saints  ought  not  to  be  honored,  and 
that  God  does  not  work  miracles  by  them.  If  he  means 
that  there  is  inherent  in  these  relics  a  mysterious  virtue, 
then  the  best  way  to  show  that  they  have  that  virtue  is  to 
prove  it  by  the  effects  which  they  produce.  Roman  Cath- 
olics have  as  many  fragments  of  the  true  cross  as  would 
build  a  firstrate  ship  of  war  —  that  is  a  matter  of  fact.  If 
there  be  any  virtue  in  any  of  these  fragments,  the  best 
course  is  to  put  a  fragment  to  the  test ;  and  if  it  will  heal 
disease,  or  raise  the  dead,  or  operate  any  other  supernatural 
result,  we  shall  believe  there  is  virtue  in  it,  and  act  accord- 
ingly ;  but  if  we  find  that  all  these  fragments  are  as  des- 
titute of  medicinal,  as  they  are  of  moral  virtue,  and  that 
there  is  no  efficacy  whatever  in  them,  we  think  it  is  honor- 
ing the  Lord,  to  whom  they  say  that  they  belong,  to  burn 
them,  or  bury  them  out  of  sight.  He  says  that  Protestants 
deny  that  God  works  miracles  by  them.  A  miracle  is  an 
appeal  to  the  senses.  If  the  senses  see  a  miracle  wrought 
by  one  of  these  relics,  of  course  we  accept  it  as  a  fact.  We 
ask  Dr.  Faa  to  show  the  miracle,  and  then  we  will  believe ; 
but  if  he  tells  us  that  these  relics  can  work  miracles,  but 
never  shows  us  that  they  do,  we  must  continue  to  say  "  show 
us  the  miracle,  and  we  will  believe  it ;  until  you  show  it,  we 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  459 

deny  that  there  is  any  such  virtue  in  the  relics  as  you 
impute  to  them." 

Then  the  difficulty  is  to  ascertain  whether  they  are  the 
very  relics  they  are  called  or  not.  I  once  saw  an  exhibi- 
tion of  relics  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  I  saw  some  also  in  one 
of  the  leading  cities  in  Belgium.  At  one  time  I  saw  what 
they  called  a  piece  of  the  true  cross ;  at  another,  a  portion 
of  the  veil  said  to  have  been  worn  by  the  Virgin  Mary ;  at 
another,  a  part  of  the  robe  of  our  blessed  Saviour.  But,  I 
find  that  there  are  five  or  six  robes  throughout  the  world, 
all  of  which  are  declared  to  have  belonged  to  our  blessed 
Saviour ;  but  none  of  them  ever  worked  one  miracle,  and 
they  seem  as  little  likely  to  work  one  in  time  to  come.  It 
seems,  therefore,  that  what  they  call  relics  cannot  be  proved 
to  be  any  such  remains  as  they  say,  and  that  whether  they 
be,  or  be  not,  they  are  incapable  of  doing  any  miraculous 
work ;  and  until  we  see  some  reason  for  venerating  them, 
we  must  pronounce  their  history  to  be  a  deception,  the 
worship  they  give  them  to  be  a  delusion,  and  the  whole  sub- 
ject to  be  a  nursery  and  source  of  superstition,  will-worship, 
and  folly. 

He  quotes,  however,  the  following  text :  "  And  E^isha 
died,  and  they  buried  him,  and  the  bands  of  the  Moabites 
invaded  the  land  at  the  coming  in  of  the  year.  And  it  came 
to  pass  as  they  were  burying  a  man,  that  behold,  they  spied 
a  band  of  men.  And  they  cast  the  man  into  the  sepulchre 
of  Elisha,  and  when  the  man  was  let  down,  and  touched  the 
bones  of  Elisha,  he  revived,  and  stood  upon  his  feet."  This 
is  evidence  that  a  relic  worked  a  miracle.  You  might  as 
well  say  that  because  Dr.  A.  cures  a  patient,  therefore  Dr. 
B.  can  cure  him  —  that  does  not  follow.  Or  you  might  as 
well  say  that  because  one  medicine  cures  a  given  disease, 
another  medicine  can  cure  the  same.  Elisha's  bones,  by 
some  mysterious  power,  did  cause  the  man  that  touched 
them  to  revive.     It  was  proved,  and  therefore  we  believe. 


460  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

Well,  if  the  priest  can  bring  forward  some  bones  which  he 
can  prove  to  be  Elisha's,  and  will  only  put  the  matter  to  the 
test  by  burying  a  dead  man  beside  them,  and  show  us  that 
the  dead  man  revives,  then  will  we  believe  that  they  are 
relics,  and  that  they  are  possessed  of  niiraculous  and  mys- 
terious virtue.  But  he  has  no  such  bones  as  Elisha's  in 
reserve ;  and  as  to  the  bones  that  the  Catholics  have  beneath 
their  altars,  nobody  knows  to  whom  they  belong,  and  I  have 
never  yet  seen  it  proved  that  they  ever  worked  a  single 
miracle  ;  nor  do  I  see  any  reason  to  believe  they  can  do  so 
in  time  to  come. 

He  then  states,  that  "  God  wrought  special  miracles  by 
the  hands  of  Paul,  so  that  from  his  body  were  brought  unto 
the  sick,  handkerchiefs  and  aprons ;  and  the  diseases  de- 
parted from  them,  and  the  evil  spirits  went  out  of  them." 
(Acts  xix.  11,  12.)  This  is  asserted  of  the  Apostle  Paul; 
but  the  Apostle  Paul  is  dead ;  his  body  is  buried,  and  his 
soul  is  in  glory.  If  Dr.  Faa  will  produce  the  apostle's  re- 
mains, and  show  that  they  have  the  power,  w^hen  dead,  to 
do  what  they  did  when  alive,  then  we  will  believe  that  they 
have  this  virtue.  But  he  has  not  proved  that  the  bones  he 
has  are  the  apostle's  or  Elisha's,  nor  has  he  proved  any 
mysterious  or  miraculous  virtue  in  them  ;  and  until  he  does 
so,  we  are  bound,  as  I  have  said,  to  reject  the  whole  pre- 
tension as  absurdity  and  superstition.  A  miracle  is  some- 
thing done  that  convinces  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  senses,  that  a 
power  is  present  greater  than  man's.  Whenever  the  Church 
of  Rome  will  do  a  miracle  that  will  answer  to  all  these  con- 
ditions, w^e  will  of  course  believe  it ;  but  as  long  as  she  tells 
us  that  she  has  certain  dead  men's  bones,  and  dead  men's 
coats,  and  fragments  of  the  cross,  and  fragments  of  the  spear 
and  other  relics,  which  need  only  to  be  touched  to  produce 
the  most  marvellous  effects,  but  never  shows  that  when 
touched  they  do  produce  these  effects ;  we  must  look  upon 
the  whole  thing  as  just  as  apocryphal  as  her  constant  as- 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  461 

sertion  that  she  has  infallibility,  while  it  is  a  constant  fact 
that  that  infallibility  has  never  been  discovered,  or  brought 
to  any  practical  issue. 

Point  10  is,  "Many  Protestants  hold  that  it  is  not  lawful 
to  keep  graven  images,  or  pictures  of  Christ,  or  of  the  saints 
and  angels,  in  our  churches :  all  Protestants  maintain  that 
to  have  a  veneration  for  such  holy  images  for  the  sake  of 
the  prototypes,  or  parties  who  are  thereby  represented,  is 
absolutely  unlawful  —  nay,  that  such  veneration  of  holy 
images  is  idolatry."  We  do  say  so.  I  am  one  of  those 
who  believe  that  the  fewer  pictures  we  have  of  any  sort  in 
our  churches,  the  more  apostolical  these  churches  will  look. 
I  exceedingly  like  to  see  the  ten  commandments  printed  on 
church  walls,  and  as  many  texts  of  the  Bible  as  you  please ; 
but  I  doubt  if  it  is  right  to  paint  images  of  our  blessed  Lord 
in  places  of  worship,  as  long  as  there  is  written  on  the  walls 
of  those  places  of  worship :  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself 
any  graven  image,  nor  the  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in 
heaven  above,  or  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the  water  under 
the  earth.  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to  them,  nor  worship 
them."  At  all  events  images  crept  in  first  out  of  veneration 
to  the  prototypes,  and  gradually  they  came  to  be  worshipped 
until  all  the  will-worship,  and  superstition,  and  idolatry  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  was  fully  matured.  But  when  they 
speak  of  pictures  of  our  Lord,  I  ask  where  is  the  painting, 
or  image,  in  the  whole  world,  that  is  really  and  truly  a  por- 
trait or  an  image  of  our  Lord  ?  You  might  as  well  call  the 
picture  of  Shakspeare  the  picture  of  me ;  or  you  might 
carve  an  image  out  of  a  block  of  wood,  and  say  it  is  a  statue 
or  image  of  me :  you  may  call  it  so,  but  if  it  be  not  exactly 
copied  from  me,  it  is  not  so.  Now,  there  is  no  evidence  in 
all  ecclesiastical  history  that  there  ever  was  a  picture  of  our 
Lord,  except  a  poor,  paltry  tradition  which  wiU  not  bear 
examination.  There  is  no  one  picture  in  the  universe  that 
39* 


462  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

can  be  proved  to  be,  in  any  sense  or  shape,  a  pn"  are  of  our 
Lord.     It  is  as  incapable  of  proof  as  tradition. 

Therefore,  we  dispute  the  very  first  part  of  the  statement, 
that  they  have  a  picture  of  our  Lord,  that  can  reasonably  be 
called  so,  in  any  sense,  or  by  any  evidence  that  can  be 
adduced.  I  deny  that  man  can  make  a  picture  of  our  Lord. 
They  may  represent  a  man  crucified:  but  the  thief  was 
crucified  who  hung  on  one  side  of  the  Saviour.  They  can 
represent  a  man  suffering ;  but  the  martyrs  have  suffered  in 
every  age  in  the  history  of  the  world.  They  may  represent 
a  sufferer ;  they  may  represent  the  accursed  tree ;  but  they 
cannot  represent  the  curse  of  the  law.  They  may  represent 
Him  bearing  the  cross ;  but  they  cannot  represent  Him 
bearing  the  curse  of  a  broken  law,  or  bearing  our  sins 
away  into  a  land  of  forgetfulness.  Besides,  Christ  was  not 
merely  man :  He  was  God  as  well  as  man.  All  that  they 
can  represent,  therefore,  when  they  represent  a  suffering 
man,  is  merely  a  suffering  human  being :  that  which  is 
really  and  essentially  a  portion  of  our  Blessed  Lord  they 
cannot  represent  by  the  painter's  pencil  or  carve  out  by  the 
chisel  of  the  statuary.  If  you  have  a  picture  of  a  man's 
lip,  or  his  hair,  or  his  hand,  you  do  not  call  that  a  picture 
of  the  man :  so,  if  they  had  a  picture  of  the  true  outward 
visage  of  our  Saviour,  that  cannot  really  be  called  a  portrait 
of  Him.  Then  have  we  a  portrait  of  Christ  at  all  ?  I 
answer,  we  have.  There  is  a  divine  portrait  of  Him.  Isaiah 
gives  one  feature,  Halachi  gives  another,  Moses  gives  an- 
other, Daniel  gives  another  ;  and  when  all  the  features  come 
to  be  joined  together,  on  Calvary,  in  the  garden  of  Geth- 
seniane,  and  in  Jerusalem,  you  find  that  all  combined,  con- 
stitute "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,"  "  the  Lamb 
of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world."  The 
picture  of  Christ,  then,  is  given  in  the  Word  of  God,  there 
alone;  and  it  is  complete,  because  it  gives  the  picture  of 
His  deity,  as  well  as  of  His  humanity  —  the  picture  of  His 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  463 

Bufferings,  as  well  as  of  His  glory.  If  I  wish,  therefore,  a 
portrait  of  Jesus,  I  will  not  take  what  man  has  painted,  but 
that  which  God  has  sketched,  as  it  is  exhibited  and  por- 
trayed in  every  page  of  His  own  inspired  and  blessed  Word. 
But  even  there,  if  I  find  Christ  Himself,  I  worship  and 
adore,  but  the  picture  of  Him  in  the  Bible  I  do  not  worship 
and  adore.  It  has  often  seemed  to  me  wonderful  (I  do  not 
know  if  the  thought  has  ever  struck  you)  that  in  the  Church 
of  Rome  they  have  worshipped  almost  every  thing,  but  they 
have  never  yet  dreamed  of  worshipping  tlie  Bible.  Is  it 
not  strange  that  that  which  is  the  likest  picture  of  God  they 
have  never  thought  of  worshipping,  and  the  pictures  they 
have  made  of  Him  by  human  hands  they  have  bowed  down 
to  and  worshipped  ?  Why  is  this  ?  Because,  if  they  had 
bowed  down  to  worship  the  inspired  portrait  of  Deity,  God's 
blessed  Word,  it  would  have  opened  its  twin  lips,  and  would 
have  thundered  in  their  hearing,  "  Thou  shalt  worship  the 
Lord,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  We  have  no  picture 
of  Christ,  but  the  Bible  one ;  and  even  that  picture  we  are 
not  to  worship.  But  what  is  the  effect  of  image-worship  ? 
It  degrades  man.  If  I  understand  Christianity,  it  is  to  raise 
man  above  the  region  of  the  senses,  to  bring  him  into  close 
communion  with  God :  if  I  understand  Popery,  it  is  to 
bring  down  God  within  the  region  of  the  senses,  till  the 
worship  and  the  object  of  worship  become  alike  debased 
and  degraded  together. 

The  passage  Dr.  Faa  quotes  in  defence  of  this,  is  Exo- 
dus XXV.  18,  "And  thou  shalt  make  two  cherubims  of  gold ; 
of  beaten  work  shalt  thou  make  them,  in  the  two  ends  of 
the  mercy-seat.'*  In  other  words,  he  reasons  that  because 
God,  under  the  ancient  figurative  economy,  commanded 
these  things  to  be  made,  as  representative  truths  to  man- 
kind ;  and  because  God  created  types  in  the  Old  Testament 
dispensation,  illustrative  of  the  great  truths  in  the  new ;  we 
are  also  to  make  images  of  Christ,  which  God  has  not  com- 


464  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

manded,  in  order  to  be  worshipped  in  the  Christian  Church. 
In  other  words,  the  argument  of  Dr.  Faa  is  this  (and  it  is 
very  odd  logic)  ;  God  commanded  types  to  be  instituted 
under  the  Old  Testament;  and,  therefore,  we  may  make 
images  of  Christ,  under  the  New  Testament.  There  is  no 
connection  between  the  two  things.  In  the  first  case,  God 
gave  the  commandment,  and  He  gave  the  reason  of  it  —  a 
type,  illustrative  of  a  truth ;  in  the  second  case,  Dr.  Faa,  or 
his  copriests,  give  the  commandment  —  not  to  be  illustrative 
of  a  truth,  as  a  type,  but  to  be  an  image,  which  God  has 
directly  forbidden.  In  the  Old  Testament  He  gave  the 
command  that  these  things  should  be  made ;  and  the  Jew 
dare  not  make  any  thing  out  of  his  own  fancy :  the  high- 
priest  dare  not  make  an  image  ;  the  instant  he  had  done  so, 
God's  law  would  have  said :  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thy- 
self any  graven  image."  If  the  Romish  priest  can  show  that 
God  has  commanded  such  images  to  be  made,  then  we  obey, 
and  accept  them ;  but  if  I  show  that  He  has  forbidden  all 
images  to  be  made,  except  those  he  Himself  commanded  for 
special  typical  purposes,  and  which  are  not  now  required, 
because  the  ends  for  which  they  were  instituted  have 
arrived  —  this  being  the  case.  Dr.  Faa's  reasoning  is  alto- 
gether beside  the  mark.  All  his  quotations  are  of  the  same 
stamp  —  not  bearing  on  the  point  for  which  he  quotes  them. 
Point  11,  is:  "Protestants  hold  that  there  is  no  purga- 
tory, or  third  place,  no  middle  state  of  suffering  souls  in  the 
other  world ;  and  that  it  is  a  vain  and  superstitious  custom 
to  pray  for  the  dead."  Now,  we  do  not  believe  that  there 
is  no  purgatory :  I  believe  there  is  a  purgatory ;  but  it  is 
this :  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  [purgeth  or]  cleanseth 
from  all  sin ; "  and  we  say,  because  we  have  so  effective  a 
purgatory  upon  earth,  we  do  not  need  a  purgatory  hereafter. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  so  imperfect  a  sacrifice,  so 
imperfect  an  atonement,  that  there  is  a  great  deal  left  to  be 
cleansed  or  burned  away  in  the  next  world ;  but  we  Prot- 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  465 

estants  hold  that  we  have  in  the  precious  blood  of  our 
Saviour  so  complete  an  atonement,  so  perfect  an  ablution, 
that  it  cleanseth  from  all  sin ;  and  therefore  there  is  nothing 
to  be  cleansed  from  in  the  world  that  is  to  come. 

But  the  best  way  is  to  hear  Dr.  Faa's  texts.  He  first 
quotes  Matth.  xii.  32.  "And  whosoever  shall  speak  a  word 
against  the  Son  of  Man  it  shall  be  remitted  unto  him ;  but 
he  that  shall  speak  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be 
forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  the  world  to 
come."  Then  adds  Dr.  Faa :  "  These  words  of  our  Saviour 
leave  no  room  to  doubt  but  some  sins  are  remitted  in  the 
other  world."  Now,  the  best  answer  will  be  to  quote  the 
parallel  passage  to  this,  which  is  Mark  iii.  39 :  "  He  that 
shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  never  forgive- 
ness." The  passage  quoted  by  Dr.  Faa  says :  "  It  shall  not 
be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  that  which  is 
to  come."  You  ask  what  is  the  meaning  of  that  ?  and  you 
turn  to  the  parallel  passage,  and  find  its  equivalent:  "Hath 
never  forgiveness."  But  suppose  it  meant  literally  the 
world  to  come,  we  ask  Dr.  Faa,  or  his  Church,  what  is  pur- 
gatory for  ?  The  answer  will  be :  "  for  punishing  sin."  But 
this  text  that  he  quotes  speaks  only  of  forgiving  sin ;  and 
therefore,  to  quote  it,  to  prove  that  there  is  a  place  for  pun- 
ishing sin,  is  altogether  to  misquote  and  misapply  the  Word 
of  God. 

The  next  passage  is,  1  Cor.  iii.  10  to  15:  "Now,  if  any 
man  build  upon  this  foundation,  gold,  silver,  precious  stones, 
wood,  hay,  stubble ;  every  man's  work  shall  be  made  mani- 
fest. For  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be 
revealed  by  fire ;  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work, 
of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide,  which  he  has 
built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any  man's 
work  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss,  but  he  himself  shall  be 
saved,  yet,  so  as  by  fire."  Therefore,  says  Dr.  Faa,  there 
is  a  place  where  this  fire  goes  on,  and  where  certain  parties 


466  THE   BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

are  to  be  saved  by  fire.  I  may  explain  to  you  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  defines  purgatory  to  be  '^purgatoris  ignis 
in  quo  animce  piorum  cruciantur : "  "  a  purgatory  fire  in 
which  the  souls  of  the  faithful  are  tortured,  or  punished." 
But  Dr.  Faa  quotes  the  passage  from  1  Cor.  to  prove  that 
there  is  such  a  torturing  place  where  persons  are  purified  or 
saved  so  as  by  fire.  I  want  you  to  see  how  utterly  inappli- 
cable this  is.  First,  purgatory  is  for  purifying  and  punish- 
ing men's  souls :  this  passage  speaks  of  trying  man's  works  : 
it  cannot,  therefore,  be  the  same  fire.  Secondly,  purgatory 
is  for  purifying :  the  apostle  speaks  of  trying :  therefore,  it 
cannot  be  the  same  thing.  Again,  it  is  here  said :  "  If  any 
man's  works  abide,"  which  supposes  that  some  will  not ;  but 
in  purgatory  every  man's  work  abides,  for  every  man  comes 
out  of  purgatory,  and  is  ultimately  admitted  into  heaven. 
Lastly,  the  expression  here  is  "  saved  so  as  hy  fire "  (in 
other  words,  he  shall  be  saved  with  the  utmost  difficulty)  : 
but  if  it  meant  purgatorial  fire,  it  would  have  said  "  shall  be 
saved  hy  fire."  Here  it  is  said  figuratively,  "  So  as  by  fire." 
The  expression  here  employed,  (ag  did  TtvQog,  is  used  by 
classic  writers  to  denote  "  with  great  difiiculty,"  or  "  a  nar- 
row escape."  I  submit,  therefore,  that  if  purgatory  is  for 
purifying  souls,  it  cannot  be  alluded  to  here ;  for  this  is  for 
trying  works :  if  it  be  for  purifying,  it  cannot  be  alluded  to 
here  ;  for  this  is  for  trying  or  testing.  Therefore,  to  quote 
a  passage  which  describes  another  object,  another  process, 
another  work,  in  order  to  prove  the  existence  of  a  place  in 
which  there  is  nothing  at  all  similar  to  it,  is,  I  say  again,  to 
misquote  and  misapply  the  Word  of  God.  I  may  state 
another  fact.  Bellarmine  says  that  all  the  Fathers  are  at 
issue  on  this  passage ;  but  every  member  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  is  bound  by  his  creed  to  interpret  the  Scripture 
according  to  the  unanimous  sense  of  the  Fathers;  and 
where  the  Fathers  are  not  unanimous,  the  Roman  Catholic 
is  bound  to  shut  his  mouth,  and  not  dare  to  interpret  at  all. 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  467 

The  only  other  text  of  any  value  which  he  quotes  is, 
"  God  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds," 
(Rom.  ii.  6).  Let  me  refer  to  the  whole  passage :  "  Who 
will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds :  to  them 
who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  glory,  and 
honor,  and  immortality,  eternal  life :  but  unto  them  that  are 
contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteous- 
ness, indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon 
every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also 
of  the  Gentile ;  but  glory,  honor,  and  peace,  to  every  man 
that  worketh  good."  Does  not  this  passage  speak  of  only 
two  places  ?  It  speaks  of  one  place  where  there  is  glory, 
and  honor,  and  eternal  life,  to  them  that  do  good ;  and  it 
speaks  of  another  place  where  there  is  indignation,  and 
wrath,  to  them  that  do  evil.  Dr.  Faa  quotes  the  passage  to 
prove  that  there  is  an  intermediate  place;  but  it  proves, 
instead,  that  there  are  but  two  places.  In  that  world  to 
which  you  and  I  are  rapidly  approaching,  there  are  but  two 
great  extremes,  into  one  of  which  we  must  enter:  one 
where  there  is  "joy  unutterable,  and  full  of  glory,"  the  way 
to  which  is  a  crucified  Saviour,  and  the  other  in  which  there 
is  sorrow,  and  despair,  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  prepared  for 
them  who  reject  and  refuse  that  Saviour.  When  I  say  pre- 
pared,  however,  perhaps  I  overstate  the  matter;  for  it  is 
remarkable  that  when  Christ  speaks  to  the  righteous,  he 
says :  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father ;  inherit  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  you ; "  but  when  addressing  the  lost,  he 
says :  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire, 
prepared  [not  'for  you,'  but]  for  the  devil  and  his  angels;" 
showing  that  if  any  man  go  to  eternal  ruin,  he  goes  where 
he  was  never  meant  to  go,  in  spite  of  warnings,  protests, 
remonstrances ;  so  much  so,  that  while  every  saint  that  is  in 
heaven  will  recollect  for  ever,  "  I  was  saved  by  God's  ^race 
alone;  I  did  not  contribute  one  atom  to  my  salvation;'* 
every  man  that  perishes  will  recollect  that  he  is  in  the 


468  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

Regions  of  the  lost  as  a  suicide,  that  he  did  it  all  himself, 
that  no  one  sent  him  there  but  his  own  sins  and  wicked- 
nesses. 

Point  12  is:  "  Protestants  hold,  that  in  the  sacrament  of 
the  holy  Eucharist,  or  Lord's  Supper,  the  elements  of  the 
bread  and  wine,  after  consecration,  remain  still  in  their  very- 
natural  substances  ;  and  that  the  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  are  not  truly,  really,  and  substantially  present 
in  that  sacrament."  So  we  do.  The  Roman  Catholic  holds, 
that  the  instant  the  priest  has  said  over  the  bread  and  wine 
"  hoc  enim  est  meum  corpus"  that  moment  it  becomes  literally 
the  Son  of  God,  body  and  soul,  divinity  and  humanity :  so 
much  so,  that  when  the  priest  holds  up  the  wafer,  composed 
of  flour  and  water,  with  the  image  of  the  Saviour  on  it,  all 
the  people  fall  down  and  worship  it  as  the  living  and  true 
God ;  they  believe  it  to  be  so,  and  as  such  they  worship  it. 
After  this  the  priest  offers  it  upon  the  altar,  a  propitiatory 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead. 

The  text  he  quotes  is  Matt.  xxvi.  26,  "  Jesus  took  bread, 
and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  the  disciples,  and 
said.  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body.  And  he  took  the  cup, 
and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  all 
of  it ;  for  this  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which  is 
shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins."  He  says,  Prot- 
estants say  that  this  passage  is  only  parallel  to  such  pas- 
sages as  "  I  am  the  door,"  "  I  am  the  true  vine,"  etc.  He 
has  no  doubt  that  there  are  certain  passages  that  are  to  be 
used  in  this  figurative  sense,  but  he  says  it  is  evident  that 
this  passage  is  not  to  be  so  used.  Let  me  state  that  there 
are  thirty-seven  passages  in  the  Bible  exactly  analogous  to 
this.  In  thirty-six  of  these  the  Roman  Catholic  interprets 
figuratively,  as  we  do.  As  for  instance,  "  The  seven  candle- 
sticks are  the  seven  churches ; "  that  does  not  mean  that 
they  were  transubstantiated  into  the  seven  churches,  but 
that  they  are  the  representatives  of  them.     Again,  over  the 


THE   BARNET    DISCUSSION.  469 

ancient  passover  of  the  Jews,  tlie  officiating  person  said  of 
the  Iamb  that  was  slaughtered  and  roasted,  and  partaken  of 
by  the  family,  "  This  is  the  Lord's  passover."  When  the 
officiating  Jew  said  that,  he  did  not  mean  that  the  lamb, 
roasted  and  placed  upon  the  table,  was  transubstantiated 
into  an  angel  flying  through  Egypt,  killing  the  first-born  of 
the  Egyptians,  and  sparing  the  first-born  of  Israel ;  but  it 
meant  that  that  was  the  memorial  of  the  event.  Now,  our 
Lord  used  the  very  same  language,  and  said  of  the  bread 
and  wine,  when  placed  upon  the  table,  "  This  is  my  body ; " 
and  every  Jew  (and  the  apostles  were  Jews  at  that  moment) 
understood  that  it  was  interpreted  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  analogous  expression  at  the  analogous  rite,  and  that  it 
meant,  "  This  is  the  symbol  of  my  body."  His  body  was 
there  at  the  table ;  how  could  it  be  dead,  and  slain,  and  par- 
taken of,  as  well  as  be  at  the  table  ?  But  I  may  mention, 
that  the  Roman  Catholics  who  insist  upon  construing  this 
passage  literally  do  not  do  so.  The  words  are,  "  This  is 
my  body : "  but  the  Roman  Catholics  say  it  means,  "  This 
is  transubstantiated  into  my  soul  and  body,  and  blood  and 
divinity  ; "  therefore  they  do  not  take  it  literally. 

Then  as  to  the  other  text.  One  of  the  Evangelists  says, 
"  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood."  If  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  says  that  the  words,  "  This  is  my  body,"  must 
be  understood  literally,  then,  of  necessity,  the  next  words, 
"This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood,"  must  be 
understood  literally  too ;  and  he  must  suppose  the  cup  to  be 
actually  turned  into  the  book  called  the  New  Testament.  If 
he  interpret  the  first  literally,  he  must  interpret  the  last 
literally  too  ;  and  he  must  hold  a  transubstantiation  so  mon- 
strous and  extravagant,  that  he  would  be  excommunicated 
by  his  own  Church  for  believing  it  to  be  real. 

At  a  discussion  I  once  held  with  a  distinguished  Roman 

Catholic  barrister  (at  which  my  friend  on  my  left,  the  Rev. 

Mr.  Parkinson  was  present),  who  was  a  far  cleverer  advo- 

40 


470  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

cate  of  the  Church  of  Rome  than  our  friend  Dr.  Faa,  I  was 
saying  that  all  these  expressions,  "  This  is  my  body,"  "  I 
am  the  door,"  "  I  am  the  rock,"  and  so  on,  were  figurative, 
and  as  such  to  be  construed ;  and  that  the  expressions  in 
the  Fathers  which  he  quoted  were  also  figurative,  and  as 
such  to  be  construed.  But  Mr.  French,  at  one  part,  turned 
round  with  great  gravity  upon  me,  and  said,  "  Now,  Sir, 
you  have  driven  me  from  the  Fathers,  or  insisted  that  I 
should  leave  them,  and  go  to  the  Bible  ;  I  go  to  your  Bible, 
and  take  it  just  as  I  find  it."  Then,  looking  to  me,  he 
continued,  "Now,  Sir,  none  of  your  figures  of  speech,  none 
of  your  Orientalisms,  none  of  your  metaphors  ;  here  are  the 
words,  '  This  is  my  body ; '  to  these  words  I  keep  you,  and 
these  words  prove  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation."  When 
he  had  done,  I  had  to  reply.  I  opened  a  chapter  in  Isaiah, 
in  which  it  was  written,  "  All  flesh  is  grass ;  yea,  verily, 
[mark  how  strong  is  the  expression]  the  people  are  grass." 
I  then  turned  to  him,  and  said,  "  You  have  brought  me  to 
the  Bible,  at  which  I  rejoice.  To  the  Bible  I  go,  and  I  find 
these  words,  '  All  flesh  is  grass  ;  yea,  verily,  the  people  are 
grass.'  Now,  Sir,  none  of  your  figures  of  speech,  none  of 
your  Orientalisms,  none  of  your  metaphors ;  you  have 
brought  me  to  the  literal  Scriptures,  and  to  the  literal  Scrip- 
tures I  go ;  and  I  assert.  Sir,  upon  your  own  principle  of 
interpretation,  that  you  are  not  a  man  of  the  earth,  or  a  fish 
of  the  sea,  or  a  beast  of  the  field,  or  a  fowl  of  the  air,  or 
Mr.  French  the  barrister  —  but  a  bundle  of  grass.  If,  now 
I  were  to  smite  you,  you  would  not  feel  ;  if  I  were  to  tickle 
you,  you  would  not  laugh  ;  if  I  were  to  prick  you  "  —  and, 
as  I  Avas  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he  shrunk  back,  and 
showed  that  he  was  not  grass,  but  flesh  and  blood  as  sensi- 
tive as  I  was. 

If  you  take  this  literal  method  of  interpreting  any  book, 
it  ends  in  absolute  nonsense ;  it  will  not  bear  to  be  applied 
to  any  other  portion  of  Scripture.     You  will  observe,  our 


THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION.  471 

blessed  Lord  had  a  true  body,  just  as  yours  and  mine  is  (sin 
excepted)  ;  but  if  you  can  show  that  that  body  differs  from 
ours,  you  take  away  all  the  precious  comfort  in  his  glorious 
and  blessed  incarnation  ;  because  if  he  was  not  a  true  man, 
with  a  true  body  and  reasonable  soul,  God  has  not  been 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  seen  of  angels,  believed  in  the  world ; 
and  our  faith  is  vain,  and  our  hope  also  is  vain. 

But  in  the  course  of  the  discussion,  I  said,  "  After  the 
priest  has  turned  the  flour  and  water  into  flesh  and  blood,  I 
go  to  the  altar.  Before  he  touched  the  wafer,  I  tasted  it  — 
it  was  flour  and  water  ;  I  smelt  it  —  it  was  flour  and  water ; 
I  broke  it  —  it  was  flour  and  water.  But  I  wait  until  the 
priest  turns  it  into  flesh;  and  I  smell  it  —  it  is  flour  and 
water  still ;  I  taste  it  —  it  is  flour  and  water  ;  I  break  it  — 
it  is  flour  and  water  ;  and  if  I  leave  it  long  enough,  it  cor- 
rupts like  flour  and  water  still."  He  said,  "  But  your  senses 
are  deceived."  I  said,  "  My  senses  deceived !  Will  you 
then  show  me  a  text  that  proves  transubstantiation  ?  "  He 
put  his  finger  on  Matth.  xxvi.  26  (the  verse  I  have  quoted). 
I  looked  at  the  words,  and  said,  I  do  not  read  it  as  you  do  : 
I  read  it,  "  These  are  the  bricks  with  which  Babylon  was 
built."  He  turned  round  and  said,  "What  do  you  mean?" 
I  replied,  "  My  senses  tell  me  the  verse  reads  thus,  *  These 
are  the  bricks  with  which  Babylon  Avas  built ; '  your  senses 
tell  you  it  reads,  '  This  is  my  Body.'  Which  of  our  senses 
are  right  ?  My  senses  are  as  much  to  be  believed  as  yours  ; 
if  you  say  the  senses  are  often  deceived,  why  may  not  my 
senses  be  right,  and  your  senses  wrong  ?  "  Of  course,  this 
was  too  much  for  him ;  it  showed  the  absurdity  of  the  prin- 
ciple he  had  laid  down.  I  said,  "  More  than  this,  if  you  say 
the  senses  may  be  deceived,  as  the  Roman  Catholic  says 
every  Sunday,  mark  what  a  powerful  weapon  you  cast  into 
the  hand  of  the  Mormon,  the  infidel,  the  sceptic.  They  will 
turn  round  and  say,  '  You  allege  that  the  apostles  saw 
Christ  rise  from  the  dead.     Your  senses  are  deceived  every 


472  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

Sunday ;  may  not  the  senses  of  the  apostles  have  been  de- 
ceived likewise  ?  The  five  hundred  brethren  who  said  they 
saw  Him  after  He  was  risen,  their  senses  may  have  been 
deceived  too.' "  Thus,  it  will  come  to  pass,  that  whenever 
Roman  Catholicism  gains  the  ascendency  one  year  in  a 
country,  if  you  wait,  and  watch,  you  will  see  scepticism, 
like  a  dark  shadow  in  its  train,  gain  the  ascendency  the  very 
year  that  follows.  Hence  I  believe,  with  respect  to  Voltaire, 
D'Alembert,  Diderot,  and  all  the  sceptics  that  arose,  like 
exhalations  from  below,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury —  that  the  blood  of  their  souls  stains  the  garments  of 
the  Church  of  Rome ;  and  that  she,  with  her  sanguinary 
crimes  and  dreadful  superstitions,  is  answerable  for  much  of 
the  awful  state  into  which  France  has  been  plunged  in  the 
present  day.  You  know  not,  my  dear  friends,  how  much 
you  owe  to  an  open  Bible  in  the  midst  of  Old  England. 
You  know  not  how  much  you  owe  to  the  fact,  that  your 
minister  dare  not  assert  from  the  pulpit  w^hat  contradicts 
the  Bible ;  and  that  he  is  called  upon,  and  that  he  feels  you 
expect  it  at  his  hands,  to  prove  what  he  says  by  an  appeal 
to  the  Bible.  And  depend  upon  it,  the  instant  you  let  go 
your  Bible,  your  blessed  privilege  —  the  Bible  without  a 
clasp,  the  cross  without  a  screen,  with  no  atoning  efficacy  in 
tears  or  penances,  but  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  no  justifying 
righteousness  anywhere  but  in  the  righteousnesc  of  Jesus, 
no  regenerative  power  but  in  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  no 
directory  but  in  God's  own  Word  —  the  instant  you  let  go 
these  cardinal  truths  of  Christianity,  that  moment  you  will 
see  another  finger,  as  mysterious  as  those  which  wTOte  upon 
the  plaster  of  old,  writing  upon  the  churches,  and  chapels, 
and  halls,  and  palaces  of  England  :  "  Ichabod,  Ichabod,  the 
glory  is  departed ;  our  sun  is  set,  and  we  are  indeed  deso- 
late." Thus,  wherever  Romanism  in  one  day,  or  in  one 
century,  is  rampant,  you  will  find  the  next  day,  or  the  next 
century,  infidelity  rampant  also.     A  French  pastor   once 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  473 

told  me  of  a  tour  which  he  took  in  the  interior  of  France, 
where  he  saw  an  image  of  our  blessed  Lord  cut  out  beauti- 
fully in  stone,  and  clothed  in  the  robes  of  a  Jesuit.  He 
wrote  underneath  it :  "  Thus,  my  blessed  Lord,  have  they 
disfigured  thee,  lest  any  one  should  love  thee."  I  believe 
that  is  what  Romanism  has  done  to  Christianity.  "  Thus, 
blessed  Gospel,  has  that  church  disfigured  thee,  lest  any  one 
should  love  thee."  I  am  not  surprised  that  men  rejected 
Christianity  in  the  form  of  llomanism,  and  preferred  scepti- 
cism, with  all  its  gross  and  palpable  absurdities,  to  that  dark 
and  deadly  superstition. 

I  pass  on  to  the  words  which  are  immediately  before  us,  in 
order  to  show  how  untenable  the  doctrine  of  transubstantia- 
tion  is,  which  is  here  advocated  by  the  priest.  First,  I  have 
shown  you  that  the  words  quoted  are  to  be  interpreted 
according  to  the  way  in  which  other  similar  passages  are 
interpreted  in  the  Bible,  and  must  be,  to  make  common 
sense.  I  have  shown  you  that  the  analogous  expression, 
"This  is  the  Lord's  passover,"  was  applied  to  that  rite 
which,  under  the  ancient  economy,  corresponded  to  tlie  Lord's 
Supper  here.  Now,  I  notice  one  other  point — and  I  think  it 
is  a  most  important  one.  When  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
instituted  by  our  blessed  Lord,  he  said,  "  Do  this  in  remem- 
hrance  of  me."  But  does  not  memory  relate  exclusively  to 
the  absent,  not  to  the  present  ?  Therefore,  when  you  take 
that  bread,  and  hold  that  cup,  in  remembrance  of  Christ,  it 
implies  that  Christ  is  bodily  absent,  and  not  bodily  present. 
If  a  Roman  Catholic  say  that  Christ  may  be  in  two  places  at 
once, — that  he  may  be  in  heaven,  and  upon  the  altars  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  —  then,  if  next  Sunday  morning,  at 
eleven  o'clock,  ten  thousand  Roman  Catholic  priests  shall  con- 
secrate at  ten  thousand  different  altars,  according  to  their  the- 
ology, on  each  altar  there  will  be  the  complete  Saviour,  soul 
and  body,  ten  thousand  times  repeated,  or  multiplied,  all  over 
the  world.  If  we  say  to  a  Roman  Catholic,  "  This  is  so  absurd 
40* 


474  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

tliat  we  cannot  believe  it,"  his  answer  is :  "  The  body  of  Christ 
may  be  in  more  places  than  one  at  a  time."  Have  we  any 
reason  to  believe  that  it  is  so  ?  I  give  you  one  fact  to  show 
that  it  is  not  so.  When  the  angel  referred  to  his  resurrec- 
tion, he  said,  "  He  is  not  here,  but  is  risen : "  implying  that 
he  could  not,  as  a  body,  be  here,  and  risen,  at  one  and  the 
same  moment.  Whilst  it  is  true,  as  to  his  divinity,  that  he 
iills  the  universe  with  his  presence  and  his  glory,  it  is  no 
less  true,  as  to  his  body,  that  the  heavens  must  contain  it 
until  the  restitution  of  all  things.  Therefore,  for  the 
Roman  Catholics  to  assert  that  that  body  is  present  on  all 
these  altars  at  once  is  to  contradict  the  clear  passages  of  the 
word  of  God. 

But  this  is  not  all.  By  this  doctrine  our  Lord  is  literally 
crucified  afresh,  and  put  to  an  open  shame.  I  will  give  you 
some  evidence  that  it  is  so.  There  is  prefixed  to  every  copy 
of  the  Missal  in  Latin,  (the  Roman  Catholic  Prayerbook,) 
a  series  of  directions  enabling  the  priest  to  perform  the  mass 
correctly  :  it  is  called  "  De  defectibus  Missm^  It  is  said  in 
this,  that  "  if  the  bread  that  is  put  upon  the  altar  be  not  of 
wheat,  or  if,  being  of  wheat,  it  be  mixed  with  some  other 
grain,  that  it  doth  not  remain  wheaten  bread,  or  be  in  any 
other  way  corrupted,  no  sacrament  is  made."  That  is  to 
say,  the  sacrament  is  not  made,  if  the  flour  merchant  who 
supplies  the  Roman  Catholic  priest  with  the  flour  out  of 
which  this  wafer  is  made  should  be  a  cheat,  and  should  send 
him  a  larger  portion  of  some  other  meal  instead  of  flour. 
Then  the  Roman  Catholic  priest  may  say  as  often  as  he 
likes,  "  it  is  changed  into  the  body  and  blood  of  the 
Saviour;"  by  his  own  showing,  the  object  the  people 
worship  is  an  idol,  and  the  sacrifice  the  priest  makes  is  a 
nonentity  and  a  deception.  I  ask,  is  that  a  safe  or  certain 
creed,  that  makes  the  God  you  worship  depend  upon  the 
honesty  of  your  flour  merchant,  miller,  or  corn  grower  ? 
But  more  than  that ;  if  the  wine  used  by  the  priest,  (and 


Tnii  BARNET   DISCUSSION.  475 

remember,  the  words  I  am  quoting  are  not  Protestant  words, 
but  the  words  ordered  by  the  Cliurch  to  be  prefixed  to  every 
Missal  for  the  direction  of  the  priest,)  "  if  the  wine  be  quite 
sour,  or  quite  putrid,  or  be  made  of  bitter  or  unripe  grapes, 
or  if  so  much  water  be  mixed  with  it  as  spoils  the  wine,  the 
sacrament  is  not  made."  Thus,  in  other  words,  the  priest 
may  say  the  words  over  the  wine :  "  This  is  the  new  testa- 
ment in  my  blood,"  but  if  the  wine  be  made  of  sour  or 
unripe  grapes,  he  may  say  them  as  often  as  he  likes,  the 
wine  is  not  changed,  and  that  which  the  people  worship  is 
only  a  little  wine  and  water,  and  not  the  God  on  whom  they 
trust  for  salvation.  I  said  the  Roman  Catholic's  worship 
depends  upon  the  honesty  of  his  flour  merchant ;  it  is  also 
dependent  upon  the  integrity  of  his  wine  merchant.  I 
submit,  then,  that  you  are  not  called  upon  to  leave  a  church 
in  which  you  depend  only  upon  the  word  of  the  living  God, 
and  go  to  a  church  where  you  depend  upon  the  honesty  of 
every  tradesman  and  the  intention  of  every  priest,  both 
of  whom  have  cheated,  and  both  of  whom  may  cheat  again, 
whether  you  perpetrate  idolatry  or  not. 

Now,  what  if  this  consecrated  host  should  disappear  — 
I  am  saying  this  to  expose  a  dreadful  error,  and  I  say  it 
under  a  deep  sense  of  reverence  for  that  blessed  body  which 
is  in  heaven,  and  which  will  be  manifested  again  in  glory  — 
what  if  this  host,  which  Roman  Catholics  believe  to  be  the 
soul,  body,  and  divinity  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  should 
disappear  by  any  accident,  or  by  wind,  or  be  swallowed  by 
some  animal  ?  a  supposition  contemplated  in  this  document 
as  possible.  Just  think  of  this :  the  Roman  Catholic  believes 
that  flour  and  water  can  be  turned  into  the  body  and  blood 
of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  he  supposes  it  possible  that  a  rat 
or  a  mouse  may  come  and  swallow  that  blessed  body,  and 
carry  it  away  !  I  ask,  is  this  Christi^pity  ?  Is  it  not  rather 
the  desecration  and  the  degradation  of  it !  And  if  there  be 
a  church  that  commits  the  awful  sin  of  crucifying  the  Lord 


476  THE   BAHXET   DISCUSSION". 

afresh,  and  putting  Him  to  an  open  shame,  it  is  that  church 
that  brings  Him  down  to  her  altars,  and  connects  Him  with 
all  these  degradations  and  abominations.  I  submit,  then, 
that  on  these  grounds  (and  I  might  mention  many  others) 
transubstantiation  is  an  absurdity  —  nay,  more,  an  awful 
and  unholy  blasphemy.  But  it  may  be  argued  by  the 
Roman  Catholic,  that  God's  power  can  do  all  that  we  have 
supposed  to  be  impossible.  I  answer,  God's  power  is 
certainly  omnipotent ;  but  when  we  want  to  know  what  is 
truth,  we  do  not  appeal  to  the  power  of  God,  but  we  appeal 
to  the  written  Word  of  God.  Our  rule  of  faith  is  not  what 
God  can  do :  it  is  what  God  has  said.  And  He  has  said  so 
plainly,  and  shown  so  clearly  that  transubstantiation  is 
impossible,  is  absurd,  is  unscriptural,  is  blasphemous,  and 
derogatory  to  His  honor,  that  we  may  reject  it,  in  the 
language  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  "a  blasphemous 
fable  and  a  dangerous  deceit." 

I  turn  then  to  the  next  doctrine,  which  is  brought  forward 
in  Point  13.  "Protestants  hold  that  communion  in  one 
kind  is  only  half  of  the  sacrament,  nor  sufficient  for  salva- 
tion ;  and  that  the  laity  are  bound,  by  our  Saviour's  institu- 
tion and  command,  to  receive  in  both  kinds."  We  do  assert 
this.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  you  are  aware,  allows 
the  officiating  priest  to  partake  of  the  cup ;  and  if  there  be 
any  number  of  priests  present,  or  any  number  of  the  laity, 
they  are  not  allowed  to  touch  it.  But  you  who  are  plain 
Bible  Christians,  and  are  accustomed  to  appeal  to  that 
Blessed  Book,  which,  I  assure  you,  is  a  perfect  storehouse 
of  arguments  destructive  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  out 
of  which  she  can  be  proved  distinctly  not  to  be  the  Church 
of  Christ,  will  recollect  that  our  blessed  Lord,  when  He 
gave  the  bread  to  His  disciples,  said  simply,  "Eat;"  but 
when  He  gave  the^j^the  cup,  He  said  —  as  if  with  a  pro- 
phetic intimation  of  what  would  be  done,  "  Drink  ye  all  of 
it."     If  you  are  to  withdraw  one  of  the  elements,  the  one 


THE   BARNET  DISCUSSION.  477 

you  might  withdraw  with  the  greatest  plausibility,  would  be 
the  bread,  for  He  said  only,  "  Eat  of  it ; "  while  the  cup  you 
can  scarcely  dare  to  withdraw,  because  he  said,  "  Drink  ye 
all  of  it."  The  Church  of  Rome,  however,  has  withdrawn 
the  cup  from  her  laity,  and  gives  them  only  the  bread. 
We  shall  see  what  defence  she  makes  in  order  to  justify 
this. 

He  quotes  John  vi.  50.  "  This  is  the  bread  which  com- 
eth  down  from  heaven,  that  a  man  may  eat  thereof  and  not 
die."  Before  replying  to  these  texts  out  of  John  vi.  I  may 
mention  that  it  is  here  assumed  the  chapter  is  used  as  being 
descriptive  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  My  reply  to  that  is,  that 
it  is  descriptive,  directly,  of  no  such  thing.  Just  recollect 
the  history  of  this  chapter.  Jesus  wrought  a  miracle  of 
multiplying  the  loaves  and  fishes ;  there  followed  Him 
hungry,  carnal,  sensual  Capernaites,  who  had  not  been 
instructed  in  the  very  elements  of  the  Gospel.  And  why 
did  they  follow  Him  ?  "  Because  they  did  eat  of  the  loaves 
and  fishes,  and  were  filled."  Now,  is  it  probable  —  is  it 
accordant  with  our  blessed  Lord's  mind  and  manner,  that  to 
a  people  uninstructed  in  the  very  elements  of  Christianity,  he 
would  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  one  of  the  sacraments  ? 
Moreover,  is  it  probable  that  when  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
not  yet  instituted  at  all,  He  should  give  a  description  of  it 
to  these  Capernaites?  It  was  instituted  just  before  His 
crucifixion :  but  this  chapter  relates  to  a  period  at  least  two 
years  before  that  event ;  therefore,  the  presumption  is,  that 
it  does  not  refer  to  the  Lord's  Supper  at  all.  It  is  the  same 
with  that  passage,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit,,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  I 
hear  learned  men,  and  even  divines  and  bishops,  applying 
that  to  baptism.  I  do  not  believe  that  it  refers  to  baptism 
at  all ;  and  for  this  simple  reason  —  baptism  was  not  then 
instituted.  It  was  instituted  after  our  Lord  rose  from  the 
dead,  when  He  said,  "  Go  and  baptize;"  it  was  nDt  instiiu- 


478  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

ted  when  he  preached  to  Nicodemus,  in  John  iii.  There 
was  then  only  the  Jews'  baptism,  or  John's  baptism  —  not 
our  Saviour's.  To  quote  the  passage,  therefore,  as  referring 
to  baptism,  is  like  the  Catholics  quoting  John  vi.  to  prove 
transubstantiation. 

If  this  John  vi.  refers  to  transubstantiation,  mark  what  it 
proves.  It  says :  "  He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh 
my  blood,  hath  eternal  life."  If  that  refers  to  the  Lord's 
Supper,  then  every  person  who  goes  to  the  Lord's  Supper 
hath  eternal  life.  I  must  tell  Dr.  Faa  that  Martin  Luther 
often  took  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
therefore  that  wicked  heretic  hath  eternal  life.  Judas  was 
admitted  to  the  Lord's  table,  and  he  also  has  eternal  life. 
Many  others  who  have  been  admitted  to  the  Lord's  table  in 
the  Church  of  Rome  —  all  its  members,  in  short,  have  it. 
If  this  chapter  referred  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  then  the 
words,  "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the 
Son  of  Man,  ye  cannot  have  eternal  life,"  imply  that  nobody 
can  be  saved  without  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  thief  upon 
the  cross  never  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  yet  he 
was  saved ;  infants  die  who  have  never  partaken  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  yet  they  are  saved.  These  consequences 
so  crowd,  that  it  is  impossible  to  apply  this  chapter  with 
any  propriety  to  the  Lord's  Supper  at  all.  At  the  63d 
verse,  however,  Jesus  says :  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quicken- 
eth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing :  the  words  that  I  speak 
unto  you,  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  life."  Our  Lord 
foresaw  that  some  of  them  —  embryo  Roman  Catholics  — 
were  beginning  to  sensualize,  and  to  understand  his  words 
in  a  carnal  sense  ;  he  instantly  checked  them,  and  said : 
"  Do  not  take  my  words  literally ;  I  am  speaking  spiritual 
words,  to  be  spiritually  understood,  not  carnal  words  to  be 
carnally  interpreted." 

But  to  take  Dr.  Faa's  divisions.  He  first  quotes :  "  This 
is  the  living  bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  that  a 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  479 

man  may  eat  thereof,  and  not  die."  He  says  this  describes 
:he  bread  upon  the  table ;  but  according  to  the  Roman 
Catholic,  it  has  ceased  to  be  bread ;  it  has  become  flesh  and 
blood;  and  to  take*  this  text,  and  to  say  it  means  bread, 
when,  by  their  own  declaration,  it  has  become  flesh;  is  the 
most  absurd  application  of  Scripture  I  ever  heard.  More- 
over, it  is  said,  "  This  is  the  bread  which  cometh  down  from 
heaven."  Did  our  Lord's  body  come  down  from  heaven  ? 
No.  He  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  as  the  Creed  tells 
you :  this,  therefore,  cannot  refer  to  the  Lord's  body ;  it  is  a 
figure,  describing  the  blessings  of  a  belief  in  Jesus,  and 
resting  upon  Him  alone  for  salvation  and  acceptance. 

The  only  other  passage  where  the  Doctor  seems  to  have 
got  a  happy  hit,  and  where  he  has  made  the  most  of  it,  is 
that  remarkable  passage,  1  Cor.  ix.  27.  "  Whosoever  shall 
eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily, 
shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord."  Here 
the  Doctor  says  that  Protestants  have  wilfully  corrupted  the 
text,  and  substituted  the  word  "and"  for  "or."  I  have 
looked  at  the  original ;  and  unquestionably,  the  word  ren- 
dered "and"  is  not  x«/,  but  ?/,  which  means  properly  "or  ;" 
and  in  this  instance  the  Roman  Catholic  renders  the  verse 
correctly,  "  Whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  or  drink  this 
cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord."  And  he  says  that  this  proves  that  they 
were  in  the  habit  only  of  eating  the  bread,  or  only  of  drink- 
ing the  cup.  If  they  were  in  the  habit  of  doing  only  the 
one,  still  it  is  more  plain  they  were  in  the  habit  of  doing  the 
one  and  the  other.  "  Eat  of  the  bread  or  drink  of  the 
cup ; "  then  the  Corinthians  might  drink  the  cup.  The 
passage  proves  that  they  had  taken  the  bread  alone,  or  wine 
alone,  if  this  interpretation  be  correct.  They  were  known 
to  have  taken  the  cup  of  the  Lord,  and  to  have  taken  the 
communion  wine  to  excess ;  and  the  apostle  tells  them  so  — 
"  Have  ye  not  houses  to  drink  in  ?  "  showing  that  there  was 


480  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

no  change  of  wine  into  blood,  for  it  intoxicated,  having 
been  drunk  to  excess  by  deluded  Corinthian  proselytes. 
The  apostle  says :  "  Whosoever  shall  eat  the  bread  un- 
worthily, or  drink  the  wine  unworthily,  as  the  Corinthians 
have  done,  shall,  in  either  case,  be  guilty  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord."  The  passages  that  immediately  follow, 
show  what  was  meant.  The  apostle  adds :  "  But  let  a  man 
examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that  bread,  and 
[there  is  no  doubt  about  this  translation]  drink  of  that  cup ; 
for  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and 
drinketh  damnation  to  himself."  So  that  while  the  apostle 
uses  the  word  "  or,"  in  one  verse,  in  the  passages  that  im- 
mediately follow  "  and "  is  used ;  which  proves  that  eating 
and  drinking  both  was  the  practice  of  the  Corinthian  Church. 
I  need  not  repeat  to  you  —  what  settles  it  all  —  the  express 
commandment  of  our  Lord  "to  drink  ye  all  of  it."  One 
priest  replied  to  me  that  those  who  were  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord  were  priests,  being  the  twelve  apostles.  But  suppose 
twelve  priests  were  all  to  communicate  with  Dr.  Faa  next 
Sunday,  in  Paris,  where  he  now  is,  he  knows  as  well  as  I 
do  that  he  would  not  give  the  cup  to  these  twelve  priests : 
he  would  only  take  it  himself,  as  being  the  officiating  priest. 
Therefore,  if  the  apostles  were  all  priests,  that  would  not 
prove  the  propriety  of  the  practice  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
But  if  the  cup  were  only  given  to  the  priests,  the  bread  was 
only  given  to  the  priests ;  and  what  proves  too  much  will 
not  serve  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  quoted ;  for,  accord- 
ing to  this  reasoning,  we  should  have  no  sacrament  at  all, 
and  the  priests  alone  would  have  the  monopoly  of  the  bread 
and  the  monopoly  of  the  wine.  My  dear  friends,  the  great 
tendency  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  all  who  coincide 
with  her,  is  to  steal  from  the  laity  their  blood-bought  privi- 
leges ;  it  is  to  take  from  you  the  Bible,  and  shut  it ;  it  is  to 
take  from  you  the  communion  cup,  and  degrade  you  ;  it  is  to 
treat  you  as  those  who  are  to  be  kept  outside,  and  must  not 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  481 

touch  the  mountain  on  which  the  holy  priesthood  sit,  and 
buy,  and  sell,  and  barter  your  precious  privileges  as  they 
please.  My  dear  friends,  as  long  as  you  have  God's  blessed 
book  in  your  hands,  you  must  not  surrender  its  glorious 
privileges ;  and  as  long  as  you  can  open  that  book  in  your 
old  Saxon  mother  tongue,  and  can  read  these  words: 
"  Search  the  Scriptures,"  "  Drink  ye  all  of  it,"  "  Let  no 
man  preach  to  you  another  Gospel,"  so  long  you  must  not 
suffer  the  loftiest  Pope,  or  Prelate,  or  Council,  or  General 
Assembly,  to  deprive  you  of  that  which  God,  in  His  great 
love,  your  Father,  has  given  to  you,  his  children. 

In  Point  14,  we  are  told  that  "  Protestants  hold  that  the 
holy  eucharist  was  ordained  by  Christ  to  be  partaken  of  by 
us  as  a  sacrament ;  nor  can  it  be  offered  to  God  on  the  altar 
as  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  without  injury  done  to  Christ's 
atonement  on  the  cross." 

This  is  the  next  phase  of  the  doctrine. 

The  Roman  Catholic  alleges  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is 
not  only  a  sacrament  to  be  partaken  of,  but  a  propitiatory 
sacrifice :  he  believes  it  is  just  as  necessary  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins  as  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  upon  the  cross ;  and 
he  argues  that  it  is  so,  because  when  Christ  instituted  the 
Lord's  Supper,  he  said:  "This  is  my  blood  of  the  New 
Testament  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of 
sins,"  my  reply  is,  that  if  our  Lord,  when  He  instituted  the 
Communion  Supper,  offered  Himself  a  propitiatory  sacrifice 
for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  He  twice  offered 
Himself  —  once  upon  the  table,  as  the  Roman  Catholic 
declares,  and  once  upon  the  cross,  as  the  Roman  Catholic 
admits.  How  am  I  to  reconcile  this  twice  offering  Himself 
with  the  express  declaration  that  "  He  was  once  offered  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many."  I  argue,  therefore,  that  if  Christ 
was  once  offered.  He  could  not  have  been  ofiered  on  the 
communion  table,  and  also  on  the  cross  at  Calvary.  But 
more  than  that,  the  expression  which  in  our  version  is  ren- 
41 


482  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

dered  "  which  is  shed  for  many,"  is  rendered  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  version  "  which  shall  be  shed : "  and  according  to 
their  own  version,  therefore,  He  could  not  be  offered  a  sacri- 
fice or  propitiation  at  the  table. 

The  next  passage  he  quotes  is:  "The  Lord  hath  sworn, 
and  will  not  repent,  thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedek."  "  Melchizedek's  sacrifice,"  adds 
Dr.  Faa,  "according  to  the  book  of  Genesis,  as  all  the 
ancient  Fathers  expound  it,  was  an  offering  of  bread  and 
wine.  ^And  Melchizedek,  King  of  Salem,  brought  forth 
bread  and  wine ;  and  he  was  the  priest  of  the  most  high 
God/  Therefore  it  must  be  either  granted  that  our  Saviour 
sacrificed  at  his  Last  Supper,  under  the  forms  of  bread  and 
wine,  or  he  never  sacrificed  at  all  after  the  order  and  rite 
of  Melchizedek."  My  answer  is,  Melchizedek,  when  he 
met  Abraham,  brought  forth,  it  is  said,  bread  and  wine.  In 
the  Latin  vulgate  the  word  is  not  ohtulit,  but  protulit,  — 
brought  forth  bread  and  wine,  what  a  person  would  carry  in 
his  hand,  in  order  to  refresh  Abraham,  when  he  returned, 
weary,  from  the  slaughter  of  the  kings.  Must  not  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  be  hard  pushed  for  texts  when 
they  find  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  days  of  Melchizedek, 
and  when  they  find  Melchizedek  bringing  forth  bread  and 
wine  as  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  ?  But  he  omits  the  last 
clause:  "And  Melchizedek,  King  of  Salem,  brought  forth 
bread  and  wine,  and  he  was  the  priest  of  the  most  high 
God.  And  he  Messed  Abraham."  As  a  king,  he  brought 
forth  the  bread  and  wine,  and,  therefore,  there  was  no 
sacrifice ;  as  a  priest  he  blessed  Abraham,  and  that  was  the 
only  priestly  act  Melchizedek  did.  It  is  so  of  Christ.  As 
Melchizedek  blessed  Abraham,  so  Christ,  who  is  the  true 
High-Priest,  blesses  us.  It  is  by  thus  disjoining  the  words 
of  Scripture,  and  quoting  just  as  much  as  suits  him,  that  he 
makes  it  appear  that  Melchizedek  offered  up  a  sacrifice, 
where  he  really  offered  none  at  all.    I  think  this  sacrifice 


THE   BARNET    DISCUSSION.  483 

of  the  mass  the  most  deadly  heresy  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  words  una^, 
icpaTta^  are  applied  to  our  Lord's  death  nine  times ;  they 
mean,  perfectly,  once  for  all,  never  to  be  repeated.  It  is 
said  Christ  was  offered  eqjuTta^,  completely,  never  again  to 
be  repeated.  But,  according  to  Roman  Catholic  theology, 
Christ,  soul,  body,  and  divinity,  is  offered  every  Sunday 
upon  every  altar  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the 
living  and  the  dead.  And  what  follows  from  this  ?  The 
apostle  says :  "  If  Christ  has  been  often  offered,  then  must 
he  have  often  suffered ; "  teaching  us  that  wherever  Christ 
is  offered,  there  Christ  must  suffer.  Then,  if  the  Roman 
Catholics  offer  Christ  every  Sunday,  Christ  must  suffer 
every  Sunday,  and  they  must  be  guilty  of  the  awful  sin 
with  which  I  have  already  charged  them,  of  crucifying  the 
Lord  afresh,  and  putting  him  to  an  open  shame.  But  if 
there  be  a  sacrifice,  I  ask,  where  is  the  priest  to  offer  it  ? 
If  there  be  a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  there  must  be  a  sacri- 
ficing priest.  The  Church  of  England  does  not  recognize 
an  order  of  sacrificing  priests,  nor  does  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land ;  nor  do  any  of  the  bodies  of  Dissenters ;  but  the 
Church  of  Rome  says  her  ministers  are  priests.  Show  me 
in  the  whole  Bible,  and  I  will  give  you  five  hundred  pounds 
for  the  discovery,  that  the  word  *' priest"  is  applied  to  the 
minister  of  the  gospel,  as  a  distinction  of  his  office ;  — there 
is  no  such  thing.  We  have  ministers,  bishops,  presbyters, 
elders,  deacons,  evangelists,  apostles,  but  we  have  no  such 
officer  in  the  New  Testament  as  a  sacrificing  priest ;  and 
Dr.  Faa  has  no  more  business  in  any  chapel  in  that  char- 
acter than  a  colonel  of  dragoons  has,  or  the  admiral  of  the 
fleet.  We  have  no  use  for  such  an  officer.  He  has  no 
commission  from  Christ :  he  may  have  a  commission  from 
the  Pope.;  but  we  cannot  recognize  that.  But  there  is  one 
passage  very  fatal  to  that  doctrine.  The  apostle  says  of 
Christ,  "  This  man  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood."     In 


484:  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

the  original  the  words  are  :  IsQarevfia  urtaQa^^arov  —  liter- 
ally an  intransf arable  priesthood,  a  priesthood  that  does  not 
pass  from  him  to  any  other  person.  Under  Aaron  the 
priesthood  passed  from  one  priest  to  another,  but  Christ's 
priesthood  is  intransferable ;  and  therefore,  for  any  man  to 
assume  to  be  a  priest,  as  Christ  is,  is  as  great  a  sin  as  if  he 
should  assume  to  be  omnipotent,  omnipresent,  or  omniscient ; 
he  arrays  himself  with  blasphemous  pretensions,  and  he  will 
soon  discover  that  whoever  steals  a  ray  from  the  glory  of 
Christ  takes  a  curse  immediately  into  his  own  bosom.  In 
the  next  place,  you  will  find  no  mention,  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  of  sacrificing  priests  of 
any  sort  whatever. 

Besides,  in  the  Christian  Church  we  have  no  altar. 
Some  of  you  in  this  country  make  a  very  great  blunder 
(and  I  notice  it  sometimes  in  the  newspapers)  when  you 
say  that  such  a  gentleman  led  such  a  lady  to  the  altar.  I 
am  sorry  to  hear  this,  because  it  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  are  many  altars  in  this  country.  I  have  looked  into 
the  Church  of  England  Prayerbook,  and  do  not  find  the 
word  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  It  contains,  however, 
a  most  excellent  Protestant  sentiment,  which  I  wish  the 
Bishop  of  Exeter  and  his  friends  would  "  mark,  learn,  and 
inwardly  digest,"  (I  mean  no  disrespect  to  that  eminent  pre- 
late) :  "  That  the  Lord's  table  is  to  be  placed  in  the  middle 
of  the  congregation,  or  in  some  other  convenient  place  "  —  it 
does  not  say  in  the  east  end :  if  there  be  a  table  there,  keep 
it  there,  but  not  as  a  matter  of  necessity.  I  recollect  that 
in  Dr.  M'Neile's  former  church,  in  Liverpool,  the  table  is  in 
front  of  the  pulpit.  If  I  were  in  the  Church  of  England,  I 
would  be  a  high  churchman  in  this  matter;  I  would  not  take 
the  low  church  plan,  but  would  follow  the  first  part  of  the 
Rubric  which  says,  the  table  is  to  be  placed  in  the  body  of 
the  Church ;  this  would  be  a  testimony  against  these  sacri- 
ficing altars  which  some  of  these  imitators  of  the  Church  of 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  485 

Rome  are  trying  to  bring  in.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the 
Lord's  table  we  may  have,  but  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an 
altar.  An  intimate  friend  and  fellow-student  of  mine,  who 
took  orders  in  the  Church  of  England,  went  over  to  Amster- 
dam. He  met  there  a  reverend  gentleman  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  had  got  bitten  by  this  new  mania.  I  dare 
say  you  hear  but  little  of  it  in  Barnet ;  but  we  have  plenty 
of  it  in  London,  and  it  is  known  very  well  in  Exeter  — 
called  Tractarianism ;  and  you  have  no  idea  how  unman- 
ageable people  become  who  are  affected  with  it.  He  found 
tliis  gentleman  at  Amsterdam  at  his  communion  table, 
planting  upon  it  a  mariner's  compass.  "  What  are  you 
about ?"  said  my  friend.  "Why  your  altar  is  two  points 
too  much  to  the  north  :  it  ought  to  be  right  east."  "  I 
should  never  have  thought  of  it,"  said  my  friend,  "  if  it  had 
been  half  a  dozen  points  out."  "  Oh,  but  it  is  inconsistent 
with  such  a  council,  or  such  a  usage  ;  it  ought  to  be  duly  in 
the  east,  as  near  as  the  mariner's  compass  can  put  it." 
Just  think  of  that  glorious  Gospel  which  is  pronounced, 
in  the  New  Testament,  not  to  be  meat  or  drink,  east  or 
west,  north  or  south,  ceremony,  or  surplice,  or  silk  gown, 
feasting  or  fasting  —  think  of  that  glorious  Gospel  which  has 
none  of  these,  but  is  "  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  thus  degraded,  thus  debased !  We  have  now, 
then,  no  altars.  My  friend  Mr.  Myers,  or  Mr.  Dudding, 
dare  not  have  stone  altars  if  they  wished  —  it  would  be 
contrary  to  law.  Some  people  complain  perhaps  of  the 
State,  but  it  keeps  them  all  in  good  order,  and  checks  some 
of  those  tendencies  which  we  are  all  so  prone  to  by  nature. 
They  dare  not  have  an  altar.  What  use  have  they  for  a 
propitiatory  sacrifice  ?  If  we  need  a  propitiatory  sacrifice, 
Christ's  sacrifice  cannot  have  been  sufiicient :  then  the 
words,  "  It  is  finished,"  is  a  mockery ;  then  the  words,  "  The 
blood  of  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin,"  are  untrue ;  then 
Christ's  sacrifice  was  incomplete,  Christ's  merits  inadequate, 
41* 


486  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

Christ's  righteousness  imperfect,  and  it  needs  to  be  eked  out 
by  the  incessant  sacrifices  of  man.  But  is  this  the  case  ? 
I  explained  in  the  morning  that  God  does  not  need  to  be 
propitiated,  made  placable  to  His  people,  for  He  is  our 
Father  in  Christ,  so  loving  us  that  he  gave  Christ  to  die  for 
us.  What  is  needed  is  that  we  should  be  reconciled  to  Him, 
not  that  He  should  be  reconciled  to  us.  If  this  be  so,  why 
offer  up  sacrifice  to  make  God  placable  ?  He  is  already  so ; 
He  is  "in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself."  I 
have  read  somewhere  of  a  beautiful  incident  respecting  the 
atonement,  which  will  illustrate  what  I  mean.  It  seems 
that  a  vision  passed  before  a  person  descriptive  of  the 
atonement.  He  found  a  great  inclosure,  in  the  midst  of 
which  he  saw  millions  of  the  dying  and  the  dead.  An  angel 
came  down  from  heaven,  and  longed  to  deliver  them.  He 
saw  three  gates :  he  went  to  the  first  —  at  it  was  Justice  — 
he  said,  "  Will  you  let  these  living  ones  come  out,  and 
these  dead  ones  live?"  The  watch  said,  "My  name  is 
Justice:  the  soul  that  sins  shall  die;  they  have  been  weighed 
in  the  scales,  and  found  wanting ;  and  the  gate  cannot  be 
opened."  Pie  went  to  the  next  gate,  and  the  watch  said, 
"  My  name  is  Holiness :  the  soul  that  sins  shall  die ;  without 
holiness  they  cannot  see  the  Lord."  He  went  to  the  next 
gate,  where  was  Truth  ;  and  Truth  said,  "  I  have  said  the 
words:  the  soul  that  sins  shall  die;  and  cannot  reverse 
them."  He  asked  what  was  to  be  done  ?  All  three  said, 
"  If  some  one  will  take  the  place  of  these  —  bear  their 
curse,  and  obey  their  law  —  we  will  take  the  substitute  for 
the  sufferer,  if  sufficient,  and  will  open  the  gates,  and  let 
them  out."  The  angel  winged  his  way  back  to  heaven 
The  great  question,  on  which  your  and  my  destiny  hung, 
was  asked :  "  Whom  shall  I  send  ?  "  And  amid  the  awful, 
suspensive  silence  of  all  heaven,  a  voice  came  from  the 
Throne,  as  of  a  Lamb  that  had  been  slain,  saying,  "  Lo,  I 
come ;  in  the  volume  of  thy  book  it  is  written  of  me,  I  come 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  487 

to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God."  He  came  from  a  height  to 
which  angel's  wing  never  soared,  and  came  down  to  expe- 
rience an  agony  and  a  sorrow  that  human  heart  never 
imagined  —  bore  our  curse,  obeyed  our  law,  and  exclaimed 
at  the  close  :  "  It  is  finished."  Instantly  Justice  opened  her 
gate;  Holiness,  her  gate;  and  Truth,  her  gate;  the  living 
walked  out  free,  and  healed,  and  the  dead  arose  and  mingled 
with  the  living ;  and  there  was  peace  on  earth,  for  Mercy 
and  Truth  had  met  together,  and  Righteousness  and  Peace 
had  kissed  each  other.  Man  was  saved,  and  God  was  satis- 
fied, and  therefore  there  was  freedom.  So  it  is  with  that 
blessed  Gospel.  The  gates  are  opened  —  come  forth ;  the 
sacrifice  has  been  made  —  believe  on  it :  the  price  has  been 
paid  —  rest  upon  the  fact  that  it  is  so ;  and  go  to  God,  and 
say :  "  Because  Jesus  opened  these  gates,  therefore  do  I 
come  unto  Thee ;  and  because  Jesus  has  made  it  possible 
for  Thee  to  be  just  while  thou  justifiest  me,  I  ask  Thee  to 
forgive  me."  To  bring  another  sacrifice  —  to  bring  another 
price,  is  to  suppose  that  God  is  not  satisfied,  that  Christ's 
sacrifice  is  not  complete ;  and  it  is  to  dishonor  every  attri- 
bute of  God,  as  well  ^s  to  ruin  and  destroy  men's  precious 
souls.  We  have,  my  dear  friends,  a  righteousness  in  which 
we  may  be  robed,  so  perfect  that  an  angel's  tear  would  stain 
it,  and  a  martyr's  holiest  blood  would  defile  it.  We  have 
that  precious  blood  which  so  cleanseth  from  all  sin  that  he 
that  is  cleansed  in  it,  is  entitled  to  everlasting  happiness. 
When  the  soul  doubts  —  when  I  have  felt  the  sense  and  the 
recollection  of  sin,  I  have  always  fallen  back  upon  this  pre- 
cious truth  —  this  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  Have  you 
not  dealt  with  tradesmen  who  have  entered  their  accounts 
with  you  into  their  ledgers  ?  I  have  noticed,  myself,  when 
paying  my  bookseller,  that  he  draws  a  line  across  his  ledger, 
as  well  as  gives  me  a  receipt.  When  I  pay  him  again,  I 
see  my  last  account  in  his  book;  I  see  the  books  I  pur- 
chased, the  price  of  them,  and  the  whole  amount,  five,  ten, 


488  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

or  twenty  pounds,  against  me.  I  say  to  him,  "But  I  paid 
you  this  amount  last  Christmas."  "  Quite  so,"  he  replies, 
and  you  see  this  red  line  drawn  from  corner  to  corner  — 
this  means  that  it  is  all  settled.  Whenever  I  think  of  sin,  I 
always  recollect  that  precious  red  line,  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
which  cleanseth  from  all  sin ;  and  while  I  recollect  my  sins, 
I  feel  there  is  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus.  There  is  one  text,  my  dear  friends,  worth  carrying 
home  with  you :  "  He  that  knew  no  sin  was  made  sin  for  us 
that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." 
In  what  sense  was  Christ  made  sin  for  us  ?  Not  personally 
so,  for  He  was  the  Lamb  of  God.  In  what  sense  then  ? 
He  bore  our  iniquities;  our  sins  were  laid  upon  Him. 
Well,  then,  says  the  apostle,  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
Christ  was  made  sin  for  us,  we  are  made  righteousness  by 
Him.  If  it  was  just  in  God  to  punish  the  substitute  for  the 
imputed  sin,  it  is  but  faithful  and  just  in  God  to  acquit  the 
sinner  because  of  imputed  righteousness.  When  Jesus  died 
there  was  nothing  in  Him  worthy  of  death ;  when  we  are 
saved  there  will  be  nothing  in  us  worthy  of  heaven.  He 
was  the  spotless  Lamb,  wearing  our  tainted  fleece ;  and  we 
are  the  stray  sheep  wearing  the  robe  of  His  perfect  right- 
eousness. When  Christ  laid  down  in  the  grave  there  was 
not  one  thing  in  Him  that  could  deserve  to  die ;  and  when 
we  shall  be  admitted  into  heaven  there  will  not  be  one 
thing  in  us  that  will  deserve  admission  there.  He  suffered, 
because  of  our  sins  laid  upon  Him ;  we  are  justified,  be- 
cause of  His  righteousness  laid  upon  us.  And  I  declare 
and  protest  before  heaven  and  earth,  I  am  satisfied  with  a 
Saviour's  blood,  satisfied  with  a  Saviour's  righteousness, 
satisfied  with  the  completeness  of  a  Saviour's  sacrifice ;  and 
I  call  upon  you  not  to  elaborate  a  salvation,  but  to  accept 
one  —  not  to  contribute,  but  to  receive  —  not  to  suffer  or  to 
do  —  in  order  to  be  saved,  but  to  believe  on  Jesus,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved.     If  this  be  true,  away  with  all  the  rubbish 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  489 

of  altars,  and  priests,  and  sacrifices,  and  all  the  nonsense 
and  superstitions  of  Rome !  We  are  complete  in  Christ,  a 
glorious  Saviour,  a  glorious  Gospel,  a  blessed  faith,  a  holy 
hope,  a  happy  and  a  certain  home.  We  need  not,  then, 
such  altars,  we  need  not  such  sacrifices  as  those  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  The  altar  of  St.  Peter's  age  will  de- 
stroy, a  hammer  upset,  a  mouse  will  undermine;  but  we 
have  an  altar  under  which  is  the  Rock  of  Ages,  even  Jesus 
Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

So  much,  then,  for  that  sacrifice.  I  cannot  leave  it, 
without  asking  you,  are  you  resting  upon  that  precious 
truth  ?  I  believe  the  worst  of  all  Puseyism,  and  Popery, 
and  Tractarianism,  is  letting  go  that  great  truth.  What  was 
the  doctrine  with  which  Martin  Luther  smote  Rome  ?  Jus- 
tification by  faith  alone  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  As 
long  as  you  feel  that  you  are  justified  by  that  alone,  so  long 
you  can  say  to  the  priest,  "  We  do  not  want  your  sacrifices 
or  indulgences,  or  your  merits,  or  your  works  of  superero- 
gation, we  have  no  need  of  tliem."  What  would  be  the  use 
of  lighting  a  taper  at  noonday  ?  What  would  be  the  use  of 
an  infant  pufiing  with  his  mouth  to  add  to  the  force  of  a 
hurricane  ?  What  would  be  the  contribution  of  a  tear  to 
the  mighty  ocean  ?  What  would  be  the  contribution  of  all 
the  merits  of  all  the  saints  that  ever  suffered,  or  died,  or 
labored,  to  add  to  those  merits  which  are  infinite,  to  that 
righteousness  which  is  perfect,  to  that  sacrifice  in  which  we 
are  complete,  without  a  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing? 

Point  15,  as  given  by  Dr.  Faa,  is :  "  Protestants  maintain 
that  neither  the  apostles  nor  those  who  succeed  to  their 
office,  power,  and  jurisdiction,  the  bishops  and  priests  of  the 
Church,  have  any  power  given  them  from  our  Saviour 
Christ  to  remit  sin,  and  that  the  power  of  forgiving  sins  is 
so  far  the  proper  and  peculiar  attribute  of  God,  that  it  can- 
not be  by  him  given  and  communicated  to  men."  Then  he 
quotes  John  xx.  21,  etc.     "Then  said  Jesus  to  him  again, 


490  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

Peace  be  unto  you.  As  my  Father  hatli  sent  me,  even  so  I 
send  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed  on 
them,  and  said  unto  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit  they  are  remitted  unto  them, 
and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain  they  are  retained."  There- 
fore, argues  Dr.  Faa,  the  priest  is  to  hear  your  confession, 
and  then  absolve  you :  "  I  absolve  thee  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  question 
is,  Is  this  absolution  of  the  priest  the  fulfilment  of  the  func- 
tion, "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit  ?  "  Let  me  explain  my- 
self in  this  way.  Leprosy  of  old  was  to  be  submitted 
always  to  the  priest ;  and  it  is  said  in  the  book  of  Leviticus 
(and  my  friend,  Mr.  Myers,  will  be  able  to  convince  you 
that  I  am  right),  that  when  the  person  came  to  the  priest 
(according  to  our  translation),  the  priest  "  shall  pronounce 
him  clean."  In  the  original  the  words  are :  "  Shall  cleanse 
him ; "  but  the  translators  have  properly  rendered  it :  "  Shall 
pronounce  him  clean."  I  apply  to  sin  exactly  what  was 
applied  to  the  leprosy.  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,"  that 
is,  whosesoever  sins  ye  pronounce  to  be  remitted.  And  how 
pronounce  to  be  remitted  ?  Those  who  truly  repent,  and 
unfeignedly  believe  —  the  sins  of  these  persons  are  remit- 
ted ;  and  all  the  minister  can  do  is  to  declare  that  they  are 
really  and  truly  so,  if  those  persons  thus  repent  and  believe 
But  the  best  way,  perhaps,  to  settle  this  is  to  refer  to  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  in  which  the  functions  with  which 
Christ  invested  the  apostles  were  put  into  exercise  by  them. 
This  book  presents  a  few  chapters  to  show  how  they  carried 
into  practice  the  prerogatives  with  which  they  were  armed. 
The  gaoler  at  Philippi  exclaimed  in  the  presence  of  two 
apostles :  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  How  did  the 
apostles  meet  that  ?  Did  they  say,  "  Kneel  down  and  con- 
fess your  sins  to  us  here,"  and  then  say,  "  I  absolve  thee 
from  all  thy  sin,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son^ 
and  the  Holy  Ghost?"     No,  but  they  said:  "Believe  on 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  491 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved : "  and  the 
gaoler  believed,  and  was  baptized,  with  all  his  house.  You 
have,  therefore,  an  instance  of  the  apostles  forgiving  sins  — 
that  is,  declaring  sins  to  be  forgiven,  on  condition  of  faith  in 
the  atonement  of  Christ;  and  you  have  thus  a  commen- 
tary on  the  text,  "  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit  they  are 
remitted." 

In  Point  16,  it  is  said,  "Protestants  hold  that  we  are  to 
confess  our  sins  to  none  but  God,  and  that  it  is  needless  to 
confess  to  men ;  nor  are  we  under  any  obligation  to  confess 
to  the  priest."  Then  he  quotes,  "  Then  went  to  him  Jeru- 
salem and  all  Judea,  and  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jordan, 
confessing  their  sins."  Now,  what  is  the  position  of  the 
Church  of  Rome?  In  each  chapel  there  is  a  little  box,  to 
which  you  are  to  kneel  down,  and  put  your  mouth  at  a  hole 
on  one  side  of  it,  and  whisper  in  the  priest's  ear  every 
thought  that  has  passed  through  your  heart,  every  fact  in 
your  life,  every  thing  which  you  think  to  be  a  mortal  sin,  or 
which  you  conceive  to  be  above  what  they  call  "  venial  sin." 
I  ask  the  priest,  where  is  his  authority  for  that  ?  On  what 
text  of  Scripture  can  he  show  that  a  man  is  to  confess  his 
sins  to  the  priest  ?  What  you  have  done  against  a  fellow 
man,  confess  to  that  man ;  but  what  you  have  done  against 
God,  confess  to  God.  If  you  steal  from  your  neighbor,  and 
if  you  repent,  go  and  restore  to  him  what  you  took  — 
acknowledge  your  sin  to  him  —  that  is  right.  But  beyond 
the  injury  done  to  your  neighbor,  there  is  in  the  act  the  sin 
against  God.  Now,  the  injury  you  do  your  neighbor,  your 
neighbor  can  forgive  you ;  but  the  sin  you  commit  against 
God,  God  alone  can  forgive.  Hence,  I  believe  that  the  text 
of  David,  "Against  thee  only  have  I  sinned,"  does  not  mean 
"Against  thee  chiefly  have  I  sinned,"  but  that  sin  is  commit- 
ted exclusively  against  God,  and  to  God  alone  we  are  to 
confess  it,  and  that  God  alone  can  forgive  it.  The  practice 
of  auricular  confession,  I  need  not  tell  you,  has  been  said  to 


492  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

be  one  of  the  most  powerful  engines  of  tyranny  and  perse- 
cution in  tlie  R-oman  Catholic  communion.  Besides,  why 
should  I  bow  before  the  priest  and  confess  my  sins,  when  I 
am  welcome  to  go  to  my  Father  and  confess  them  to  him, 
who  waits,  and  rejoices  to  forgive!  I  do  not  want  the 
priest's  forgiveness  —  I  have  forgiveness  from  God.  David 
said,  '  I  will  confess  my  sin  unto  the  Lord ; "  and,  "  Thou 
forgavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin."  But  more  than  that.  If 
I  tell  the  priest  every  thought  of  my  heart,  and  every  fact 
in  my  history,  what  is  the  result  ?  The  man  who  knows  me 
just  as  well  as  I  know  myself,  is  my  master  for  life,  and  I 
am  his  slave.  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  tenacity  with  which 
the  priest  holds  his  victim;  because  (I  warn  you)  the 
instant  you  have  gone  to  the  priest,  and  told  him  every 
thing,  he  has  only  to  look  at  you,  and  he  will  make  you 
wince.  When  I  notice  Protestants  in  the  presence  of  their 
ministers,  they  seem  as  in  the  presence  of  brethren,  of 
friends,  and  fellow-worshippers ;  but  when  I  notice  Koman 
Catholics  in  the  presence  of  a  priest,  they  seem  to  shrink 
from  him,  the  very  scowl  of  a  priest's  eye  makes  them 
shrink  into  insignificance.  Why  ?  Because  the  priest  knows 
and  has  read  their  hearts,  and  has  it  in  his  power  to  blast 
them,  if  needs  be  when  he  pleases.  You  answer,  "  Is  it  not 
true,  that  a  priest  dares  not  make  known  what  he  hears  in 
the  confessional  ?  "  Perfectly  so ;  but  there  are  many  ways 
of  doing  this  without  committing  the  ecclesiastical  sin.  Sup- 
pose, now,  A.  and  B.,  two  persons,  have  had  some  dishonest 
transactions.  Both  are  Roman  Catholics,  and  they  go  to 
the  same  place,  and  separately  confess  their  common  sin.  It 
happens  that  A.  becomes  a  Protestant,  and  leaves  the 
Church  of  Pome.  Well,  the  priest  dares  not  say  any 
thing  to  A.,  but  he  goes  to  B.,  and  says,  "  You  confessed  to 
me  that  dishonest  transaction  you  had  with  A.  A.  has  left 
the  Church,  and  is  bringing  shame  and  scandal  on  it.  I 
dare  not  reveal  what  I  heard  from  him  in  the  confessional, 


THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION.  493 

but  you  tell  him,  if  he  does  not  return  to  the  Church,  you 
will  let  him  hear  something  of  himself,  and  this  may  com- 
pel him  to  come  back  again."  Thus  the  priest  sits  behind 
the  scenes,  and  pulls  the  strings  that  make  the  puppets  of 
Popedom  caper,  or  dance,  or  stand  up,  or  sit  down,  and  act 
in  any  way  he  pleases. 

Dr.  Faa  says,  in  point  17,  "  Protestants  hold  that  the  use 
of  indulgences  was  not  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  nor  has 
any  foundation  in  Scripture."  Then  he  explains  that  the 
apostle  excommunicated  a  person,  "  and  takes  upon  him  to 
release  the  same  man  in  the  person  of  Christ,  that  is,  by  the 
authority  of  Christ,  from  doing  any  further  penance  on  ac- 
/jount  of  that  sin."  That  is  the  priest's  explanation.  Indul- 
gence in  the  Roman  Catholic  Catechism  is  defined  to  be 
"  the  remission  of  the  temporal  penalty  due  for  sin  after  the 
eternal  penalty  has  been  forgiven."  In  other  words,  the 
Roman  Catholic  says  that  God  forgives  you  the  eternal 
punishment,  but  he  does  not  forgive  you  the  temporal  pun- 
ishment due  to  sin.  This  seems  to  me  a  most  lame  expo- 
sition of  God's  glorious  attribute.  If  lie  forgives  the 
greater,  surely  He  forgives  the  less;  if  He  forgive  you 
eternal  suffering,  surely  He  will  forgive  you  freely  and  fully 
the  temporal  suffering.  Do  not  suppose,  therefore,  that  you 
need  any  indulgence  —  or  that  your  doing  something,  such 
as  giving  alms,  doing  penance  of  some  sort  remits  the  tem- 
poral punishment  due  to  your  sin,  or  mitigates  the  sufferings 
you  will  have  to  undergo  in  purgatory.  The  texts  the 
priest  quotes  are  so  beside  the  question,  and  have  so  little 
to  do  with  proving  that  for  which  he  quotes  them,  that  I 
need  not  dwell  upon  them. 

The  next  point  is  that  of  confirmation.  This  may  be  a 
proper  ecclesiastical  rite,  but  certainly  it  is  not  a  sacrament. 
It  is  only  upon  that  point  we  dispute. 

Extreme  unction,  he  says,  in  his  next  point,  is  one  of  the 
new  sacraments ;  and  he  quotes  James  v.  14.  "Is  any  sick 
42 


494  THE   BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

among  you?  Let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  Church 
and  let  them  pray  over  him  ;  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  him." 
Look  at  the  boldness  of  Dr.  Faa  in  quoting  such  a  text  for 
such  a  purpose.  Extreme  unction  in  the  Church  of  Rome 
is  only  administered  when  a  person  is  dying  —  never  when 
there  is  a  likelihood  that  he  will  recover ;  but  the  unction 
James  speaks  of  is  for  the  purpose  of  recovering  the  person  ; 
they  are  two  distinct  things.  Then  the  unction  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church  is  followed  by  no  effect ;  the  unction 
St.  James  speaks  of  was  followed  by  the  miraculous  cure  of 
the  man  :  "  And  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  ;  and 
the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  :  and  if  he  have  committed  sins 
they  shall  be  forgiven  him."  Whether  we  should  have  any 
rite  in  a  Christian  Church  corresponding  to  that  of  St. 
James  is  another  question.  I  say  no,  because  it  was  a 
special  rite  for  a  special  miraculous  cure.  But  extreme 
unction  is  not  this  rite.  Miracles  have  ceased ;  and  the 
outward  signs  of  them  have  ceased  to  be  necessary  also. 

Point  20  is  :  "  Protestants  hold  that  holy  orders  is  not 
one  of  the  sacraments  of  the  new  law  ordained  by  Christ  to 
confer  grace."  Ordination  we  perfectly  approve  of,  and 
think  right :  his  calling  it  a  sacrament  is  a  strong  expression, 
and  for  which  there  is  no  evidence.  I  may  add  that  the 
word  sacrament  is  not  a  New  Testament  word  at  all,  but  is 
derived  from  the  Roman  languages  and  Roman  usages,  and 
is  generally  confined  to  those  two  great  Sacraments  — 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  next  point  which  he  takes  up,  on  which  I  partly  com- 
mented this  morning,  and  must  not  dwell  much  longer,  is  : 
"  Protestants  maintain  that  the  honor  which  is  given  to 
angels  and  saints  in  the  Church  of  Rome  is  no  better  than 
idolatry."  We  do  say  so.  In  Bonaventure's  Psalter,  the 
name  of  the  Virgin  is  substituted  in  some  of  the  Psalms  for 
the  name  of  God.     Thus ;  "  Bless,  O  my  soul,  the  Virgin 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  495 

Mary ;  all  that  is  within  me  be  stirred  up  to  bless  and  mag- 
nify her  holy  name."  The  Te  Deum  is  given  :  "  We  praise 
thee,  O  Mary,  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  our  Lady :  all  the 
earth  doth  worship  thee,  spouse  of  the  Eternal:  to  thee 
Angels  cry,  Holy,  Holy,  Holy  art  thou,  O  Mary,  Mother  of 
God."  This  is  in  a  work  which  has  gone  through  eight 
separate  editions  in  the  course  of  six  years  —  from  1836  to 
1844,  under  the  sanction  of  the  Pope :  and  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic has  a  Missal  in  which  he  prays  that  he  may  be  benefited 
by  the  intercession  of  the  blessed  Bonaventure.  I  say,  then, 
(though  Dr.  Faa  says  No,)  that  such  language  is  blasphemy 
and  idolatry  in  the  highest  possible  degree.  What  text  does 
he  quote  to  prove  it?  He  says  we  ought  to  worship  saints 
because  the  apostle  says  (Rom.  ii.  10),  "  Glory,  honor,  and 
peace  to  every  man  that  worketh  good."  Who  ever,  in  his 
senses,  thinks  that  meant  "  Glory,  honor,  and  worship  to 
saints  ?  "  The  apostle  says  that  to  them  that  do  evil  tribu- 
lation and  anguish  shall  be  their  punishment ;  but  to  them 
that  do  good,  honor,  as  their  reward  —  that  is,  admission 
into  glory  and  honor.  The  next  passage  he  quotes  is: 
"  And  when  the  sons  of  the  Prophets  which  were  to  view  at 
Jericho,  saw  him,  they  said,  The  spirit  of  Elijah  doth  rest 
on  Elisha  ; "  and  they  came  to  meet  him,  and  bowed  them- 
selves to  the  ground  before  him — ^.that  is,  civil  respect  due 
to  dignity.  The  next  passage  is  :  "  And  as  Obadiah  was  in 
the  way,  behold  Elijah  met  him,  and  he  knew  him,  and  fell 
on  his  face,  and  said,  Art  thou  my  lord  Elijah  ?  "  that  was 
merely  the  civil  respect  due  to  him.  The  next  passage  is 
from  Joshua  v.  14:  "And  he  said.  Nay,  but  as  captain  of 
the  host  of  the  Lord  am  I  now  come.  And  Joshua  fell  on 
his  face  to  the  earth,  and  did  worship."  That  is  a  strong 
expression,  and  is,  therefore,  worth  examining.  I  turn  to 
the  passage  quoted,  and  I  find  it  is  said :  "  And  Joshua  fell 
on  his  face  to  the  earth,  and  said  unto  him,  What  saith  my 
Lord  unto  his  servant.     And  the  captain  of  the  Lord's  hosts 


496  THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

said  unto  Joshua,  [here  is  the  language  which  God  used 
when  he  appeared  in  the  burning  bush,]  Loose  thy  shoe 
from  off  thy  foot,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is 
holy,"  showing  that  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  was  the 
angel  that  here  spoke  to  Joshua,  the  same  that  appeared  in 
the  burning  bush  to  Moses.  It  was  not,  therefore,  a  created, 
but  a  divine  being. 

Dr.  Faa  adds :  "  Protestants  reply  that  when  St.  John 
fell  down  at  the  angel's  feet,  and  w^ould  have  worshipped 
him,  '  See  thou  do  it  not,  says  the  angel,  I  am  thy  fellow- 
servant —  worship  God.'  Is  not  this  a  plain  argument  that 
whatever  worship  is  paid  in  a  religious  w^ay,  is  due  to  God 
alone."  How  he  can  make  out  this  lucus  a  non  lucendo  — 
this  strange  conclusion  from  strange  premises  —  I  know  not. 
If  you  should  see  an  individual  bow  down  to  worship  an- 
other, and  that  other  said,  "  Do  it  not,  but  worship  God," 
you  would  understand  that  no  religious  worship  was  due  to 
him  to  whom  it  was  offered,  but  only  and  exclusively  to  the 
true  and  living  God.  I  need  not  give  you  an  illustration  of 
the  awful  extent  to  which  Roman  Catholics  carry  their 
idolatry  in  this  matter.  This  I  have  brought  before  you  on 
former  occasions.  I  charge  the  Church  of  Rome  with  the 
grossest  idolatry  in  this  practice.  I  know  she  deals  with 
it  in  a  very  strange  way  in  some  of  her  Catechisms,  which 
I  think  I  showed  you.  In  three  Catechisms  which  I  have 
bound  up  here  —  one  by  Archbishop  Riley,  another,  "  An 
Abridgment  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  and  the  other,  by  four 
archbishops  of  Ireland  —  the  second  commandment  in  every 
instance  is  omitted  :  the  first  commandment  reading,  "  I  am 
the  Lord  thy  God,  etc."  and  the  second,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain."  I  have 
also  an  Italian  catechism,  picked  up  by  a  lady  at  Rome, 
sanctioned  by  two  Popes,  and  used  in  Rome  at  this  moment. 
The  second  commandment  is  left  out ;  and  instead  of  "  Re- 
member to  keep  holy  the  sabbath  day,"  the  commandment  is 
given,  "  Remember  to  keep  holy  the  festivals." 


THE   BARNET   DISCUSSION.  497 

The  last  point  which  I  shall  notice,  is  point  25.  "  Prot- 
estants hold  that  abstinence  and  fasting  from  certain  meats 
in  Lent,  and  upon  other  fasts  commanded  by  the  Church  is 
folly  and  superstition,  not  grounded  in  the  written  Word  of 
God."  He  quotes  from  Daniel,  the  Psalms,  Jonah,  Joel, 
etc.  But  what  do  these  texts  say  ?  Abstinence  from  food 
was  an  outward  sign  of  an  inward  feeling ;  and  in  these 
texts  it  is  connected  with  supplication,  and  sackcloth  and 
ashes.  Now,  if  the  priest  quotes  it  for  fasting  in  Lent  (and 
it  may  be  proper  to  fast  at  Lent,  for  all  that  I  am  contending 
for),  why  does  he  not  wear  sackcloth  also,  and  sprinkle  ashes 
on  his  head  ?  I  say  of  all  fasting  that  it  is  an  outward  sign 
of  an  inward  state.  If  I  feel  that  fasting  enables  me  to 
read  and  study  my  Bible  better,  and  hold  communion  with 
God  more  closely,  I  feel  it  a  duty  to  fast ;  if  I  feel  that  it 
would  have  the  opposite  effect,  it  is  then  as  much  my  duty 
not  to  fast.  God  tells  us  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man, 
not  man  for  the  Sabbath  ;  a  fortiori^  therefore,  fasting  must 
be  for  the  convenience  of  man,  not  man  for  the  doing  of  the 
fasting.  If  men  would  feast  less,  there  would  then  be  less 
need  of  fasting.  The  greatest /easier*  in  Carnival  are  the 
greatest  fosters  in  Lent :  it  is  with  them  a  sort  of  see-saw- 
eating  too  much  one  day,  and  too  little  the  next,  instead  of 
the  common  sense  plan  of  doing  that  which  is  good  an<l 
sufficient,  neither  eating  nor  drinking  more  than  they  actu- 
ally want.  I  apply  to  fasting  what  Paul  applies  to  holy 
days :  "  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another :  another 
esteemeth  every  day  alike."  "Meat  commendeth  us  not  to 
God,  for  neither  if  we  eat  are  we  better,  neither  if  we  eat 
not  are  we  worse."  "  For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat 
and  drink,  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost."  What  beautiful  common  sense,  what  sound  reason- 
ing in  that  blessed  book  !  What  evidence  does  it  give  of 
the  signature  of  God,  and  of  the  presence  and  inspiration 
of  Him  who  is  all  love  and  all  wisdom ! 
42* 


498  THE    BARNET   DISCUSSION. 

And  now,  my  dear  friends,  I  have  run  through  these 
passages  as  quickly  as  I  possibly  could,  in  order  to  do  the 
most  work  in  the  least  possible  time.  Let  me  ask  you 
in  conclusion,  are  you  not  satisfied  that  these  texts  do  not 
prove  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ?  Are  you  not 
satisfied  that  they  prove  clearly,  by  implication,  the  blessed 
truths  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  ?  My  dear  friends, 
the  days  are  coming  when  our  faith  will  be  subjected  to  the 
severest  ordeal.  I  believe  that  all  men  are  becoming  more 
and  more  earnest,  and  that  every  one  of  you  will  soon  have 
to  take  your  place  either  with  the  Lord  on  his  side,  or  on 
the  side  of  His  enemies.  We  are  all  passing  to  the  burial- 
place  of  the  dead,  and  to  the  judgment-seat  of  the  living.  We 
know  not  what  a  week,  a  day,  an  hour,  may  bring  forth,  I 
ask  you  then,  do  you  accept  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ?  Do 
you  accept,  not  what  the  priest  thinks,  or  what  the  Council 
has  decreed,  but  simply  what  God  has  inspired  in  his  own 
blessed  Word  ?  And  in  these  days  when  you  hear  so  much 
about  Churches,  never  forget  this,  that  the  true  Church  is 
that  which  presents  with  the  greatest  clearness,  distinctness, 
and  permanence,  the  everlasting  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Do  you  remember  the  beautiful  saying,  (John  iii.,)  "  J\  s 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  Wilderness,  even  so  must 
the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  ?  "  What 
was  the  case  with  the  Israelites  who  had  sinned  ?  They 
were  bitten  by  the  fiery  flying  serpent ;  they  were  dying. 
The  brazen  serpent  was  raised  at  the  top  of  a  pole  in  the 
Wilderness,  and  Moses  was  instructed  to  tell  the  people  that 
all  they  had  to  do  in  order  to  obtain  life  was  to  look  at  it. 
If  some  dying  Israelite  was  in  the  agonies  of  death,  if  he 
could  only  open  his  eye,  and  catch  one  glimpse  of  that  ser- 
pent, it  was  instant  health  and  restoration  to  him.  You 
may  have  weak  faith,  but  you  have  a  strong  Saviour ;  you 
may  have  great  faith,  but  you  have  a  great  Saviour.     Your 


THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION.  499 

salvation  is  not  in  tlie  ratio  of  your  faith  ;  you  have  a  com- 
plete Saviour,  seen  and  accepted  by  the  least  as  well  as  by 
the  greatest.  Suppose  Moses  had  said  to  the  people,  "  You 
must  first  look  at  me,  and  then  at  the  pole,  and  then  at  the 
serpent,"  they  would  perhaps  have  died  before  they  had  got 
through  the  prescribed  steps :  but  he  told  them  to  look  at 
once  at  the  serpent.  Suppose  some  dying  Israelite  had 
said,  as  some  moderns  would  say,  "  Moses,  I  will  look  at 
that  serpent,  and  be  healed,  if  you  will  tell  me  what  is  the 
composition  of  the  pole  on  which  it  stands.  Can  you  show 
me  that  it  is  a  branch  of  a  tree  a  hundred  years  old,  which 
tree  is  a  slip  from  one  that  grew  before  the  flood,  which  last 
is  a  slip  from  one  that  grew  in  Paradise  before  Adam  fell  ? 
If  you  will  trace  the  genealogical  succession  of  the  pole  that 
holds  up  the  serpent,  I  will  look  at  the  serpent,  and  be 
cured ;  if  not,  I  would  rather  lie  down  and  die."  Moses 
would  have  said,  "  It  is  of  no  consequence  to  you  whether 
the  pole  grew  on  an  oak,  or  an  ash,  or  a  fir-tree :  that  is 
best  that  holds  the  serpent  steadiest  and  highest,  most  easily 
seen  by  all  the  people."  So  is  it  with  Churches.  That 
Church  is  not  the  best  whose  minister  tells  you  of  his  long 
genealogy,  of  his  apostolical  succession,  which  is,  I  fear,  in 
many  cases,  apostolical  nonsense  ;  for  you  may  depend  upon 
it,  the  man  that  preaches  apostolical  truth  has  apostolical 
succession,  and  the  man  that  preaches  not  apostolical  truth, 
may  trace  his  genealogy  as  he  likes,  it  will  end  in  a  quagmire 
as  it  began  with  one.  That  Church  you  are  to  rest  on  that 
holds  Christ  the  highest ;  and  that  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel who  sinks  himself  in  the  shade,  and  makes  his  Saviour 
all  in  all,  is  the  minister  whose  labors  God  will  honor,  and 
to  whose  ministry  souls  will  be  given  as  precious  seals.  I 
ask  you  if  you  are  resting  on  that  Saviour  —  if  you  are 
renewed  by  His  Spirit  —  if  you  can  go  home  to-night  and 
pray  (as  I  beseech  you,  as  the  only  reward  I  ask  for  the 
little  service  I  have  done)  —  fathers  in  your  families,  each 


500  THE    BARNET    DISCUSSION. 

of  you  in  your  rooms  —  that  God  would  change  the  heart 
of  the  autlior  of  this  pamphlet,  that  He  would  enlighten  his 
mind ;  and,  whoever  may  come  to  take  his  place,  that  it 
may  please  God  to  change  his  heart,  and  give  him  his  Holy 
Spirit,  and,  through  the  precious  blood  of  the  Saviour,  bring 
him,  and  you,  and  all  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


KEVIEW 


DR.  NEWMAN'S   LECTURES 


LECTURE  I. 

I  REJOICE  in  a  second,  and  in  some  degree  unexpected, 
opportunity  of  addressing  you  upon  those  momentous  ques- 
tions which  are  occupying  a  place,  and  exerting  an  influence, 
in  the  history  of  our  country,  unparalleled  since  the  era  of 
the  Reformation.  I  have  selected  the  work  of  Dr.  Newman, 
called  "Lectures  on  the  Present  Position  of  Catholics  in 
England :  addressed  to  the  Brothers  of  the  Oratory,"  sold 
for  twelve  shillings,  and,  as  it  appears,  exceedingly  popular 
witli  his  party,  because,  in  the  first  place,  he  is  the  most 
strenuous  and  untiring  champion  of  the  creed  he  lias  so 
recently  adopted ;  and  secondly,  because  he  complains,  and 
complains  in  reiterated  terms,  that  free  discussion  is  neither 
the  practice  nor  any  part  of  the  glory  of  English  Protestants, 
and  that  his  creed  never  yet  has  had  a  fair  reflection  or  a 
candid  investigation  into  its  merits :  and  especially  does  he 
insist  that  we  British  Protestants  have  no  idea  whatever  of 
what  Roman  Catholicism  really  is ;  that  we  have  a  mere 


*  Two  Lectures  belivered  at  the  Town  Hall,  Tunbridge  "Wells,  on  Thurs- 
day, November  6,  1851.  Rev.  Thos.  Ward  Franklyn,  M.  A.,  Incumbent 
of  Cliristcliurch,  in  the  chair. 


502  REVIEW    OF 

traditional  recollection  of  its  wrong  doing,  and  a  sort  of  tra- 
ditional idea  of  its  endless  demerits,  but  nothing  beyond.  In 
fact,  of  Romanism,  or  as  he  calls  it,  Catholicism,  he  declares 
that  Englishmen,  even  the  most  learned,  have  no  just  or 
even  approximately  just  idea.  I  was  so  amazed  at  the 
extravagance  of  these  statements,  that  I  was  induced  to 
read  the  book  on  this  account  alone.  On  doing  so,  I  was  so 
struck  with  the  subtlety,  the  evasive  subtlety,  that  run 
through  his  statements,  the  occasional  splendor  and  brill- 
iancy that  break  forth  from  the  midst  of  his  discussions,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  strong  charges  that  he  makes  against 
every  section  of  the  Protestant  communion,  that  I  felt  a 
better  text-book  for  a  basis  of  elucidation  and  discussion  of 
the  principles  at  issue,  I  could  scarcely  adopt  than  the  Lec- 
tures of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Newman. 

Deeply  do  I  grieve  to  see  an  intellect  so  splendid  sinking 
into  an  evening  twilight  so  dark  and  ominous.  It  seems  to 
me,  as  if  his  mind  emitted  at  intervals  that  unearthly  brill- 
iancy that  indicates  its  approaching  extinction:  at  all  events 
if  it  be  not  so,  he  appears  to  have  drunk  of  that  cup  which 
has  been  placed  in  his  hands  by  Cardinal  Wiseman  and  Pio 
Nono,  till  he  is  intellectually  and  morally  intoxicated  with 
its  poison.  I  present  Dr.  Newman  as  a  specimen  of  the 
awful  effects  of  that  system  upon  a  man  of  great  learning,  a 
mind  of  rare  brilliancy,  an  intellect  of  great  acuteness.  And 
just  as  the  ancient  Greeks  were  in  the  habit  —  a  habit  I  do 
not  justify,  though  I  quote  it  —  of  presenting  their  slaves 
intoxicated  before  their  sons,  that  their  sons  might  see  what 
intoxication  was,  by  the  conduct  of  the  helots  under  its 
power,  and  who  thus  became  the  unhappy  victims  and  ex- 
ponents of  it,  so  I  present  Dr.  Newman  now,  compared  with 
what  Dr.  Newman  was,  as  a  specimen  of  the  dreadful  effects 
of  that  deadly  superstition,  —  and  I  use  the  language  ad- 
visedly and  cautiously,  —  which  is  now  spreading  from  a 
thousand  fountains,  and  by  a  thousand  laborers,  through  the 


DR.   NEWMAN*S   LECTURES.  503 

length  and  breadth  of  the  land :  so  that,  seeing  what  it  has 
made  him,  you  may  shrink  from  it,  and  ever  celebrate,  as 
you  did  in  Christchurch,  (the  Rev.  J.  W.  Franklyn's,) 
yesterday,  the  5th  of  iS^ovember,  and  ever  think  of  the  de- 
liverance of  our  fathers  from  the  deadly  designs  of  the 
Romish  church,  with  feelings  of  gratitude  to  God,  and 
increased  devotedness  to  our  Protestant  Christianity. 

This  volume  is  called  "  Lectures  on  the  Present  Position 
of  Catholics  in  England :  addressed  to  the  Brothers  of  the 
Oratory,  by  John  Henry  Newman,  D.  D.,  Priest  of  the 
Congregation  of  St.  Philip  Neri."  And,  first  of  all,  to  show 
the  intensity  and  earnestness  of  his  attachment  to  the  com- 
munion he  has  joined,  I  will  read  the  dedication  of  it:  — 
"  To  the  Most  Reverend  Paul,  Lord  Archbishop  of  Armagh 
and  Primate  of  all  Ireland."  And  with  that  exceedingly 
distinctive  non-naturalness,  in  which  he  indulged  before  he 
left  nature  for  the  artificial  principles  of  Romanism,  he  pro- 
ceeds :  "  My  dear  Lord  Primate,  It  is  the  infelicity  of  the 
moment  at  which  I  write,  that  it  is  not  allowed  me  to  place 
the  following  pages  under  the  patronage  of  the  successor  of 
St.  Patrick,  with  the  ceremony  and  observance  due  to  so 
great  a  name,  without  appearing  to  show  disrespect  to  an 
Act  of  Parliament."  He  professes  not  to  violate  it,  and  yet 
in  the  same  breath  he  does  so.  Now  this  "  Archbishop  of 
Armagh  and  Primate  of  all  Ireland  "  is  not  known  to  the 
people  of  England  in  this  capacity.  Dr.  Cullen  is  entitled 
to  the  same  toleration  and  privileges  that  we  have,  but  he  is 
not  Archbishop  of  Armagh :  he  has  no  right  to  take  for  his 
glory  a  part  of  the  queen's  sovereignty,  and  appropriate  it, 
and  Pio  Nono  had  no  power,  though  he  may  assume  or  pre- 
tend to  it,  to  constitute  Paul  Cullen  Archbishop  of  Armagh 
and  Primate  of  all  Ireland.  Yet  Dr.  Newman,  professing 
to  revere  the  Acts  of  the  imperial  realm  under  which  he 
lives,  and  deprecating  the  appearance  of  violating  them, 
does  not  hesitate,  while  disclaiming  it,  to  do  so.    And  does 


504  KEVIEW    OP 

not  this  indicate  a  great  deal  ?  It  shows  that,  a  law  of 
England  and  a  law  of  Rome  coming  into  antagonism,  Dr. 
Newman  selected  obedience  to  the  Pope  in  preference  to 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  his  country. 

I  now  turn  to  the  preface  of  these  Lectures.  They  were 
addressed  to  "  the  Brothers  of  the  Oratory."  I  should  be 
sorry  to  say  any  thing  that  might  be  misconstrued;  but 
some  parts  of  them  look  to  me,  from  their  extravagance,  as 
if  they  were  addressed  by  a  bedlamite  to  brothers  of  a  bed- 
lam, instead  of  by  a  father  of  the  Oratory  to  brothers  of  the 
Oratory,  —  so  extravagantly  unjust  and  so  unfair  are  some 
of  their  statements.  He  says,  that  wdiat  he  ^vill  do  will  be 
"  to  remove  some  of  the  moral  and  intellectual  impediments 
which  prevent  Protestants  from  perceiving  the  divine  origin 
of  Catholicism."  He  says  the  whole  country  of  England 
is  so  "overrun  with  prejudices,"  that  until  they  are  re- 
moved, "  it  is  as  premature  to  attempt  to  prove  that  to  be 
true  which  is  the  object  of  them,"  (Roman  Catholicism,) 
"  as  it  w^ould  be  to  think  of  building  in  the  aboriginal  forest 
till  you  had  felled  the  trees."  And  he  says,  "  He  claims, 
and  surely  with  justice,  that  it  should  not  be  urged,  against 
his  proof  that  Protestant  views  of  Catholics  are  wrong,  that 
he  has  not  thereby  proved  that  Catholicism  is  right."  His 
object,  therefore,  he  states  in  this  preface,  is  to  proceed  to 
remove  the  prejudices  that  Protestants  have  against  his 
church,  and  to  show  that  these  are  prejudices,  and  not  good 
and  substantial  reasons  for  repudiating  it. 

In  this  attempt  he  first  throws  himself  on  the  defensive ; 
and  we  know  that,  when  one  person  is  on  the  defensive,  and 
another  can  be  presented  as  an  aggressor,  the  person  on  the 
defensive  conciliates  more  sympathy  and  forbearance  than 
the  person  who  is  presented  as  the  unauthorized  and  rude 
aggressor.  He  therefore  very  surprisingly  says,  "  We 
Catholics  are  so  despised  and  hated  by  our  own  country- 
men, with  whom  we  have  lived  all  our  lives,  that  they  are 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  50^ 

prompt  to  believe  any  story,  however  extravagant,  that  is 
told  to  our  disadvantage ;  as  if  beyond  a  doubt  we  were, 
every  one  of  us,  either  brutishly  deluded,  or  preternaturally 
hypocritical,  and  they  themselves,  on  the  contrary,  were,  in 
comparison  of  us,  absolute  specimens  of  sagacity,  wisdom, 
uprightness,  manly  integrity,  and  enlightened  Christianity. 
I  am  not  inquiring  why  they  are  not  Catholics  themselves,, 
but  why  they  are  so  angry  with  those  who  are."  Now,  I  da- 
submit  that  this  is  not  a  fair  statement.  I  see  no  proof  o^ 
it  anywhere.  We  do  not  hate  Roman  Catliolics;  we  da 
not  hate  Dr.  Newman.  I  would  go  to  Birmingham  and* 
back  again  in  order  to  do  him  a  service;  and  I  am  quite 
Bure  that  there  is  not  one  of  you,  however  much  you  may 
deplore  the  errors  of  which  he  is  the  victim,  who  would  not 
sacrifice  and  suffer  in  order  to  emancipate  him ;  and  we  all 
feel,  what  is  so  true,  that  any  man's  creed,  however  erro- 
neous it  may  be,  does  not  authorize  us  to  treat  him  who 
adopts  it  with  contempt,  or  visit  him  with  proscription,  or 
persecution,  or  bad  usage  of  any  kind.  It  is  untrue  in  Dr. 
Newman  to  assert  that  we  hate  Roman  Catholics.  We  pity 
the  men ;  we  do  hate  their  principles.  We  distinguish  be- 
tween men  who  are  the  unhappy  victims,  and  those  deadly 
principles  of  which  they  are  industrious  and  active  expo- 
nents. Because  Dr.  Newman  is  sincerely  attached  to  his 
new  creed,  I  respect  him.  Because  he  is  unhappily  and- 
fatally  wrong,  I  will  endeavor  to  undeceive  him ;  but  I  will 
not  and  do  not  hate  him,  or  any  one  associated  with  him ; 
nor  would  I  deny  him  any  privilege  or  right  to  which  he  is 
entitled,  because  he  differs  so  widely  from  me  in  those  great 
truths  which  concern  our  present  enjoyment,  and  our  ever-^ 
lasting  well-being.  He  then  goes  on  to  state,  "  Nor,  again,, 
am  I  proposing  to  prove  to  you  or  to  myself,  that  knaves- 
and  fools  we  are  not,  not  idolaters,  not  blasphemers,  not 
men  of  blood,  not  profligates,  not  steeped  in  sin  and  searedl 
in  conscience ;  for  we  know  each  other  and  ourselves.***" 
43 


506  KEYIEW    OP 

Now,  I  do  not  say  that  they  are  what  he  here  specifies ;  but 
I  do  say,  and  I  am  prepared  to  prove,  that  his  church  is 
IDOLATROUS,  that  his  church  is  sanguinary  and  persecut- 
ing in  principle  and  in  practice,  that  his  church  is  blas- 
phemous in  her  worship.  I  am  very  happy  to  hear  that 
Dr.  Newman  shrinks  from  the  charge,  and  shall  rejoice  if  he 
can  show  that,  whatever  his  church  can  be,  or  has  done,  he 
is  neither  idolatrous,  nor  blaspheming,  nor  sanguinary,  nor 
persecuting.  It  is  this  separation  of  him  from  his  church  I 
desire.  In  another  part  he  says,  in  language  that  seems  to 
us  very  strange,  at  least  very  new,  —  "Protestantism  is 
jealous  of  being  questioned ;  it  resents  argument."  Why, 
its  advocates  have  discussed  its  claims  with  Roman  Catho- 
lics on  every  platform.  You  cannot  enter  a  Protestant 
church  without  hearing  it  broadly  brought  forward ;  and  we 
Protestants  have  all  imagined,  until  Dr.  Newman  unde- 
ceived us,  that,  instead  of  being  jealous  of  being  questioned, 
we  loved  to  be  so,  knowing  well,  that  the  church  that 
shrinks  from  discussion  is  a  church  that  hates  the  light, 
because  its  dogmas  are  evil.  But,  alas !  I  fear  he  is  not 
here  ingenuous.  It  is  a  principle  of  the  Jesuits,  —  and  it 
is  remarkable  how  it  runs  through  this  volume,  —  to  take 
the  offences  that  are  justly  charged  on  themselves,  and  to 
attribute  them  to  their  opponents.  "  Protestantism  resents 
argument,"  says  he ;  "  it  flies  to  state  protection ;  it  is  afraid 
of  the  sun ;  it  forbids  competition.  How  can  you  detect 
the  sham,  but  by  comparing  it  with  the  true  ?  Your  artifi- 
cial flowers,"  (those  are,  Protestant  doctrines,)  "  have  the 
softness  and  brilliancy  of  nature,  till  you  bring  in  the  living 
article  fresh  from  the  garden."  You  may  remember  I 
gave  you  a  "  living  article  fresh  from  the  garden "  of  Dr. 
Newman,  in  the  beautiful  and  moral  sentiments  of  Alphonso 
de  Castro.  I  gave  you  another  "  living  article  fresh  from 
the  garden  "  of  Cardinal  Wiseman,  in  the  oath  that  Romish 
archbishops  take,  —  "I  will  attack  and  persecute  heretics  to 


W!^ 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  507 

the  utmost  of  my  power."  And  I  will  give  you  one  or 
tw6  more  clioice  bouquets  from  the  Canon  Law,  and  you 
will  see  that,  if  we  have  not  flowers  very  fragrant  to  his 
sensitive  taste,  there  are  some  flowers  in  his  garden  which 
we  think  of  very  equivocal  aroma,  and  which  we  regard  as 
weeds  rather  than  fragrant  flowers.  For  instance,  in  Dr. 
Newman's  Canon  Law,  which  he  dare  not  repudiate,  which 
his  primate  has  come  to  select,  we  find  such  flowers  as 
these  —  "  Let  the  secular  powers,  whatever  office  they  may 
hold,  be  advised  and  instructed,  and  if  need  be,  compelled 
by  ecclesiastical  censure ;  and  as  they  desired  to  be  reputed 
and  held  faithful,  to  take  a  public  oath  for  the  defence  of  the 
faith,  that  they  will  study  to  the  utmost  to  exterminate  from 
all  territories  subject  to  their  jurisdiction,  all  heretics  so 
marked  by  the  church."  That  is  not  a  very  fragrant 
flower.  "And  if  the  secular  power  refuse  to  comply,  let  it 
be  told  to  the  sovereign  pontiff",  and  let  him  denounce  the 
subjects  as  released  from  their  fealty,  and  give  the  country 
to  Catholics,  who,  having  exterminated  the  heretics,  may 
peaceably  possess  it.'*  (This  decretal  is  headed,  Lmocent 
IIL  in  Concilio  Generali,  vol.  ii.  p.  758,  Corp.  Jur.  Can. 
Leipsic,  1839.)  The  aroma  of  that,  too,  is  not  very  fra- 
grant. Gregory  IX.  inserted  this  decretal  of  the  Fourth 
Lateran  in  his  decretals:  "An  oath  contrary  to  the  utility 
of  the  church  is  not  to  be  observed."  —  Vol.  ii.  p.  358, 
Decret.  Greg.  IX.  lib.  ii.  tit.  24,  cap.  27,  Leipsic,  1839. 
"  These  are  to  be  called  perjuries  rather  than  oaths,  which 
are  attempted  against  ecclesiastical  utility."  —  Ibid.  "You 
are  not  bound  by  an  oath  of  this  kind,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
you  are  freely  bid  God  speed  in  standing  up  against  kings 
for  the  rights  and  honors  of  that  very  church,  and  even  in 
legislatively  defending  your  own  peculiar  privileges."  — 
Decret.  Greg.  IX.  lib.  ii.  tit.  24,  cap.  31,  vol.  ii.  p.  360. 
"  The  fealty  which  subjects  have  sworn  to  a  Christian  king, 
who  opposes  God  and  his  saints,  they  are  not  bound  by  any 


508  REVIEW    OF 

authority  to  perform."  —  Vol.  i.  p.  648.  "Moreover,  we 
declare,  assert,  define,  and  pronounce  it  to  be  of  necessity 
to  salvation,  for  every  human  creature  to  be  subject  to  the 
Eoman  Pontiff."  —  Extrav.  Comm.  lib.  i.  tit.  8,  11  GO.  Pars. 
2.  Leips.  1839.  Now,  these  extracts  I  am  not  quoting 
second  hand.  I  have  got  the  Canon  Law  (the  Leipsic  edi- 
tion, 1839,)  which  I  procured  from  Belgium,  and  I  have 
examined  it  from  beginning  to  end,  and  any  one  that  wishes 
to  do  so,  may  ascertain  the  correctness  of  my  quotations,  by 
going  and  looking  at  the  references.  "No  one  shall  judge 
the  first  see,"  (the  see  of  Rome)  "  when  it  desires  to  admin- 
ister justice;  for  neither  by  the  emperor,  nor  by  all  the 
clergy,  nor  by  kings,  nor  by  the  people,  can  the  judge  be 
judged."  —  Innoc.  Decret.  Grat.  2,  p.  c.  93,  cap.  13,  col. 
522.  Leips.  1839.  "The  Roman  pontiff  has  all  laws  in 
the  casket  of  his  own  bosom."  —  Ibid.  cap.  15.  Now, 
these  are  some  of  his  natural  flowers.  I  think,  if  you  con- 
trast them  with  what  he  calls  "  artificial  flowers,"  you  will 
pronounce  those  artificial  he  thinks  natural,  while  he  mis- 
takes for  natural  those  that  are  the  composition  of  popes, 
that  still  smell  of  perjury,  proscription,  persecution,  and 
death,  and  indicate  the  air  of  the  dungeon,  not  the  day. 

I  turn  to  another  passage,  in  which  he  says,  "  The  simple 
notion  of  most  people  is,  that  Christianity  was  very  pure  in 
its  beginning,  very  corrupt  in  the  middle  age,  and  very 
pure  in  England  now,  though  still  corrupt  everywhere  else ; 
that  in  the  middle  age,  a  tyrannical  institution,  called  the 
Church,  arose  and  swallowed  up  Christianity;  that  that 
Church  is  alive  still,  and  has  not  yet  disgorged  its  prey, 
except,  as  aforesaid,  in  our  own  favored  country :  but  in  the 
middle  age,  there  was  no  Christianity  anywhere  at  all,  bat 
all  was  dark,  and  horrible,  as  bad  as  Paganism,  or  rather, 
much  worse.  No  one  knew  any  thing  about  God,  or 
whether  there  was  a  God  or  no,  nor  Christ  or  his  atone- 
ment ;  for  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  saints,  and  the  Pope,  and 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  509 

images,  were  worshipped  instead:  and  thus,  so  far  from 
religion  benefiting  the  generations  of  mankind  who  lived  in 
that  dreary  time,  it  did  them  indefinitely  more  harm  than 
good.  Thus  the  Homilies  of  the  Church  of  England  say, 
that  '  In  the  pit  of  damnable  idolatry  all  the  world,  as  it 
were  drowned,  continued  until  our  age'  (that  is,  the  Ref- 
ormation,)  *by  the  space   of   above   eight  hundred  years 

so  that  laity  and  clergy,  learned  and  unlearned,  all 

ages,  sects,  and  degrees  of  men,  women,  and  children,  of 
whole  Christendom  (an  horrible  and  most  dreadful  thing  to 
think),  have  been  at  once  drowned  in  abominable  idolatry, 
of  all  other  vices  most  detested  of  God,  and  most  damnable 
to  man.'  Accordingly,  it  is  usual  to  identify  this  period 
with  that  time  of  apostasy  which  is  predicted  in  Scripture, 
the  Pope  being  the  man  of  sin,  and  the  Church  being  the 
mother  of  abominations,  mentioned  in  the  Apocalypse." 
Now  all  this,  he  says,  is  the  popular  misapprehension  of 
what  Catholicism  is,  and  is  not  true.  I  assert,  it  is  exact 
truth.  Now,  if  I  were  making  the  charge  myself,  of  course 
it  would  be  merely  Dr.  Cumming  against  Dr.  Newman,  and 
I  might  be  suspected  in  getting  up  a  charge,  as  criticism 
upon  his  work.  But  I  will  quote  from  one  of  his  own 
authorities  as  to  the  state  of  the  Romish  Church  in  the  mid- 
dle ages.  He  says  that  the  Homilies  are  calumnious,  that 
Protestants  are  misinformed,  that  the  middle  ages  are  not 
what  they  are  described,  and  he  quotes  some  authors  to 
show  that  they  are  not.  I  will  give  one  extract  from  Baro- 
nius,  the  most  celebrated  Roman  historian,  to  whom,  as  Dr. 
Newman  requires,  I  give  references.  He  says,  "Behold, 
the  nine  hundredth  year  of  our  Redeemer  begins,  in  which 
a  new  age  commences,  which,  by  reason  of  its  asperity  and 
barrenness  of  good,  is  wont  to  be  called  the  iron  age ;  and 
by  the  deformity  of  its  abounding  evil,  the  leaden  age ;  and 
by  its  poverty  of  writers,  the  dark  age :  standing  upon  the 
threshold  of  which,  we  have  thought  it  expedient,  before  we 
43* 


510  REVIEW    OF 

proceed  further,  on  account  of  the  crimes  which  it  has  been 
our  lot  to  behold  before  the  door,  to  make  some  preface  by 
way  of  admonition  to  the  reader,  lest  the  weak-minded  should 
itake  offence,  if  he  sometimes  perceives  the  abomination  of 
(desolation  standing  in  the  temple,  whereas  he  ought  rather 
to  wonder  and  to  recognize  the  divine  power  watching  over 
its  safety,  since  the  desolation  of  the  temple  did  not  directly 
ibllow  that  abomination  as  was  the  case  formerly,  and  should 
understand  that  it  rests  upon  more  solid  foundations,  namely, 
•on  the  promises  of  Christ,  which  are  stronger  than  heaven 
and  earth,  even  as  he  himself  testifies,  saying,  '  Heaven  and 
-earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away.' 
JBut  you  will  ask.  What  are  these  evils,  and  whence  did 
rthese  so  great  and  most  violent  tempests  arise  ?  The  case 
is  such,  that  scarcely  any  one  can  believe  or  ever  will  be- 
lieve it,  except  he  sees  it  with  his  eyes,  and  handles  it  with 
his  hands,  viz.,  what  unworthy,  vile,  unsightly,  yea,  what 
execrable  and  hateful  things,  the  sacred  apostolic  see,  upon 
whose  hinges  the  universal  Apostolic  Church  turns,  has 
/been  compelled  to  suffer,  when  the  secular  princes,  although 
Christians,  yet  in  this  respect  to  be  deemed  most  cruel  ty- 
rants, oppressively  arrogated  to  themselves  the  election  of 
-the  Roman  pontiffs  !  To  our  shame  and  grief  be  it  spoken, 
Jiow  many  monsters,  horrible  to  behold,  were  intruded  by 
them  into  that  seat,  which  is  reverenced  by  angels  !  How 
jnany  evils  originated  from  them,  how  many  tragedies  were 
perpetrated !  "With  what  filth  it  was  her  fate  to  be  besprin- 
Med  who  was  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  with  what  stench  to 
:Tbe  infected,  with  what  impurities  to  be  defiled,  and  by  these 

things  to  be  blackened  with  perpetual  infamy 

"  Thus,  indeed,  at  Rome  all  things,  as  well  sacred  as  pro- 
fane, w^ere  mixed  up  with  factions ;  so  that  the  promotion  to 
the  apostolic  see  was  in  the  hands  of  that  party  which  was 
in  appearance  the  most  powerful,  so  that  at  one  time  the 
Homan  nobles,  at  another  time  the  Prince  of  Tuscany,  in- 


DR.   NEW3IAN'S   lectures.  511 

truded  by  their  secular  power  whatever  Koman  pontiff  they 
wished,  and  cast  out,  whenever  they  could,  him  who  Was 
elevated  by  the  contrary  faction;  which  things  were  in 
agitation  during  almost  the  whole  of  this  century,  until  the 
Othos,  the  emperors  of  Germany,  who  opposed  both  parties, 
interfered  between  them,  arrogating  to  themselves  equally 
the  election  of  the  pope  and  the  deposition  of  the  elected. 

"  When  he  (that  is  Christopher)  was  again  cast  out,  that 
wicked  Sergius  again,  who,  as  you  have  heard,  proceeded 
such  lengths  against  Formosus,  being  powerful  by  the  arms 
of  Adelbert,  Marquis  of  Tuscany,  and  being  the  slave  of 
every  vice,  what  did  he  leave  unattempted  ?  He  invaded 
the  seat  of  Christopher,  not  of  Formosus,  as  Luitprand  re- 
lates, through  forgetfulness,  who,  it  appears,  indeed  after  a 
bad  entry,  and  a  worse  course,  attained  a  worse  departure. 

"  These  were  most  unhappy  times,  when  each  pope,  thus 
intruded,  abolished  the  acts  of  his  predecessor."  —  Baronii 
Annales  Ecclesiastica,  tom.  x.  a.  d.  900.  Stephani.  P.  vii. 
Antwerpia3,  1G03. 

No  Protestant  ever  spoke  so  severely  of  that  age  as  Ba- 
ronius ;  surely,  then,  we  are  not  to  be  charged  as  stating 
what  is  untrue,  when  we  take  the  sentiments  of  his  own 
recognized  historians,  and  become  their  mere  echoes  and 
exponents  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  country. 
And  I  could  give  you,  if  the  time  permitted,  a  picture  of  the 
middle  ages  from  Roman  Catholic  writers  alone,  without 
quoting  Protestant  testimony  at  all  —  that  would  shock  and 
horrify  you,  and  show  that,  instead  of  being,  as  Dr.  Newman 
has  stated,  exaggerators,  we  have  never  yet  described,  in 
terms  sufficiently  strong,  offences  perpetrated  and  sanctioned 
by  popes  and  prelates  in  the  middle  ages :  in  short,  the  ex- 
cellent Homily  of  the  Church  of  England  states  exact  and 
literal  truth.  Genebrand  also  says,  "  For  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  from  John  8th  to  Leo  9th,  about  fifty 
POPES  desisted  wholly  the  virtues   of  their  predecessors, 


512  REVIEW    OP 

being   apostate   rather    than   apostolical."  —  Genebrandi 
Chron.  An.  Ch.  204.  Paris,  X585. 

He  says,  another  gross  misrepresentation  is,  the  practice 
of  railing  against  the  Jesuits.  "  It  is  vain,"  says  he,  "  to 
ask  their  slanderers  what  they  know  of  them ;  did  they  ever 
see  a  Jesuit  ?  Can  they  say  whether  they  are  many  or  few  ? 
what  do  they "  (the  Protestants  of  England)  "  know  of 
their  teaching  ?  "  Well,  then,  since  we  seem  to  know  very 
little  of  it,  and  lest  it  might  be  possible  that  you  should  be 
Protestants  who  know  very  little  of  it,  I  was  at  the  trouble 
of  making  a  few  extracts  from  the  writings  of  the  most 
celebrated  of  them;  and  I  may  add,  that  they  are  only 
flowers  culled  from  a  very  large  garden,  containing  others 
of  a  less  aromatic  description.  I  have  made  quotations 
from  the  following  Jesuit  fathers  —  Escobar,  Emanuel  Sa, 
Sanchez,  Tambourin,  Lessius,  and  others,  very  celebrated 
and  very  well  known  to  those  who  have  looked  into  the  sub- 
ject. Dr.  Newman  says,  we  have  a  wrong  popular  appre- 
hension of  the  Jesuits;  that  we  do  not  know  what  their 
sentiments  are,  and  that  therefore,  using  the  word  "  Jesuit  " 
as  the  proverbial  exponent  of  what  is  bad,  is  unjust  to  the 
Jesuits ;  and  he  quotes  from  Blanco  "White,  and  also  from 
Neander,  to  show  the  orthodoxy  and  excellence  of  the 
Jesuits.  I  quote,  then,  first  from  "  Escobar,  Theol.  Moral," 
vol.  i.  book  8,  problem  8G  :  "  Query,  if  it  be  lawful  to  sell 
the  obligation  of  administering  the  sacraments  ?  "  "  Yes : 
If  a  man  undertake  to  administer  the  sacraments  with  bodily 
pain  and  labour,  which  do  accidentally  accompany  it,  as  to 
administer  in  a  place  far  distant,  and  in  such  sort  as  gives 
him  particular  trouble."  Then,  you  see,  he  may  charge  for 
the  administration  of  the  sacraments.  Emanuel  Sa,  says, 
"  He  who  receives  a  sum  of  money  for  saying  masses  can 
engage  others  at  a  less  sum,  who  may  help  him,  while  he 
retains  the  rest  for  himself:"  —  De  Verbo  Missoe,  n.  45^, 
p.  516. 


DR.  Newman's  LECxrRES.  513 

And  again,  you  will  recollect  that  I  quoted  from  Dr. 
"Wiseman's  own  manual  —  "  Liguori  "  —  the  way  of  avoid- 
ing the  question,  "  Is  your  master  at  home  ? "  When  it  is 
put  by  a  visitor  to  a  servant,  the  servant  is  instructed  in 
some  Protestant,  —  not  true  .Protestant  families,  —  to  say 
that  his  master  is  not  at  home.  Dr.  Wiseman's  protege, 
Saint  Liguori,  states,  that  his  servant  may  assert,  "My 
master  is  not  here;"  —  meaning  in  his  own  mind,  "Not 
within  the  twelve  inches  of  ground  on  which  my  foot  stands." 
Now,  on  looking  through  Suares,  as  quoted  by  Filliutius, 
(99  Mor.  tom.  2,  tract  25,  c.  11,  n.  327,)  an  eminent  Jesuit 
writer,  I  found  another  explanation  of  it :  "  If  the  servant 
be  asked,  ^  Is  the  master  at  home  ? '  he  may  say,  *  Non  est 
domi ; '  which  may  appear  to  the  mind  of  the  interrogated  to 
mean.  He  is  not  in  the  house;  but  as  *est'  is  the  third 
person  of  the  verb  edo,  to  eat,  he  means  that  he  does  not  eat 
at  home."  This  is  a  specimen  of  their  moral  teaching. 
Sanchez  says,  "  A  person  having  made  a  promise,  and  being 
called  before  a  judge,  may  swear  he  did  not  make  the  prom- 
ise, meaning,  that  he  did  not  make  it  so  as  to  be  obliged  to 
keep  it."  (Op  :  Moral,  1.  3,  c.  26,  n.  32,  p.  29.)  Now  Dr. 
Newman  says,  we  malign  the  Jesuits ;  but  here  is  one  of 
their  own  doctrines  which  avowed,  by  any  Englishman, 
would  utterly  disgrace  him.  Caramuel  says,  (Theol.  fund. 
p.  139,)  "  A  man  hears  the  clock  strike  twelve  on  Saturday 
night.  Rising  from  table,  after  having  filled  himself  with 
meat,  he  hears  another  clock  strike  twelve  also.  The  fol- 
lowing day,  being  desirous  to  communicate," — You  are 
aware  that  a  Roman  Catholic  must  communicate  fasting  ;  so 
that,  in  this  case,  since  he  could  not  receive  the  consecrated 
host  after  twelve  o'clock  the  next  day,  he  must  not  have 
eaten  since  twelve  o'clock  the  night  before,  —  "The  follow- 
ing day,  being  desirous  to  communicate,  he  reasons  thus : 
Clocks  are  probable  opinions.  I  have  eaten  before  the  last 
clock  struck :  it  is  therefore  probable  I  ate  before  midnight 


514  KEVIEW    OP 

on  Saturday,  and,  tlierefore,  that  I  am  fasting  on  Sunday." 
Escobar  says,  "Excepting  in  the  case  of  scandal,  ecclesi- 
astics sin  not  mortally  in  Tiolating  the  laws  of  secular 
princes,  because  they  are  not  directly  bound  by  such  laws." 
Theol.  Mor.  vol.  i.  1.  5,  s.  2,  c.  19,  prob.  19,  p.  1G2.  Es- 
cobar says,  (Tract  6,  Exam.  7,  n.  132,  p.  769,)  « I  know  it 
is  not  a  great  offence  to  get  up  a  fable,  if  it  be  done  with  the 
intention  of  exciting  the  piety  of  the  hearers  ;  and  also,  to 
preach  chiefly  for  personal  glory,  or  even  for  money,  I 
affirm,  is  not  a  mortal  sin."  Another  extract  I  give  from 
these  writings.  Tambourin,  (b.  5,  Dec.  c.  1,  sec.  3,  nn.  28, 
30,)  says,  "  If  you  desire  the  death  of  your  father,  upon 
some  conditions  you  may  lawfully ;  that  is,  if  I  should  say 
to  myself,  If  my  father  should  die,  I  should  enjoy  his  estate : 
in  this  case,  I  should  not  rejoice  in  my  father's  death,  but  in 
my  inheritance.  Again,  I  desire  the  death  of  my  father, 
not  because  it  is  an  evil  to  him,  but  the  cause  of  good  to  me, 
and  because  by  his  death  I  enter  on  my  inheritance."  And 
then,  Lessius,  quoting  Amicus,  another  very  celebrated 
Jesuit,  says,  (p.  84,  n.  41,)  "It  is  lawful  for  churchmen  and 
monks  to  kill  for  the  security  of  their  lives  ;  and  they  may 
use  this  liberty  against  their  superiors  —  a  monk  against  an 
abbot,  a  son  against  a  father,  a  vassal  against  his  prince." 
And  Lessius  adds,  "  If  a  priest  be  assailed  while  he  is  at 
the  altar  saying  mass,  he  may  defend  himself,  and  even  kill 
the  assailant,  if  it  be  needful,  and  afterwards  go  on  with  the 
mass."  Lessius  says,  (De  Justitia  et  Jure,  lib.  2,  dub.  12, 
n.  77,)  "  If  you  endeavor  to  deprive  me  of  my  honor,  before 
a  prince,  or  .judge,  or  persons  of  quality,  by  accusing  me  of 
feigned  crimes,  as  I  have  no  other  way  to  divert  that  loss  of 
reputation  than  by  killing  you  secretly,  I  may.  The  same 
is  to  be  said  if  the  crime  be  true,  only  it  must  be  hid  and 
secret."  Aniicus  says,  (vol  i.  Dispu.  36,  sect.  4,  p.  557,) 
"  The  right  of  defending  life  belongs  not  only  to  one  private 
person  against  another,  but  to  a  private  against  a  public  per- 


DR.  new3ian's  lectures.  515 

son  —  a  subject,  for  instance,  against  a  sovereign.  The 
authors  of  whom  I  speak  agree  on  this  point,  that  to  defend 
ourselves  against  an  affront  which  might  be  given  us,  it  is 
lawful  to  anticipate  the  aggressor  by  killing  him.  The 
clergy  and  religieux  may  defend  their  honor,  and  in  doing 
so,  do  ail  that  is  necessary  thereto :  they  may  even  kill  him 
who  would  deprive  them  of  it.  It  will  be  lawful  for  a  priest 
or  monk  to  kill  a  slanderer  who  threatens  to  publish  some 
great  crimes  against  him  or  his  order,  if  he  have  no  other 
means  to  defend  himself. "  *  Now  Dr.  Newman's  assertion 
is,  that  we  never  saw  a  Jesuit,  that  we  know  nothing  of 
their  teaching ;  and  yet  we  say,  that  "  It  is  notorious  that 
the  Jesuits  are  a  crafty,  intriguing,  unscrupulous,  desperate, 
murderous,  and  exceedingly  able  body  of  men."  I  say  that 
the  popular  opinion  is  the  true  one  ;  and  I  could  quote  a 
thousand  extracts  of  the  same  spirit  as  those  I  have  now 
quoted,  to  show  that  the  Jesuits  are  all  that  popular  belief 
says  they  are.  Dr.  Newman's  tactics  are  transparent.  He 
writes  to  annihilate  a  sound  and  healthy  Protestant  feeling, 
in  order  to  get  on.  And  I  think  that  Dr.  Newman,  when 
he  characterizes  genuine  charges  as  popular  prejudices,  and 
tries  to  turn  th§m  aside  with  a  laugh,  instead  of  directly  and 
logically  refuting  them,  does  not  much  diminish  the  evidence 
that  those  quotations  contain  of  what  desperate  tricks  Jesuits 
are  the  patrons.  I  may  also  mention  that,  only  the  other 
day,  I  found  this  statement  delivered  by  Dr.  Macbride,  at  a 
recent  meeting  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Oxford ; 
and  I  think  it  is  so  true,  that  it  will  constitute  a  very  good 
Protestant's  denial  of  Dr.  Newman's  assertion  respecting 
our  knowledge  of  the  Jesuits  :  "  The  conduct  of  the  Jesuits 
in  Southern  India  we  should  have  been  slow  to  believe  on 
less  authority  than  their  own  :  but,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
their  published  narratives  show  that  they  gloried  in  their 

«  These  editions  are  in  the  Librarj^  of  Sion  College. 


516  REVIEW    OF 

shame,  for  they  boasted  that  they  deceived  the  Hmdoos  by 
representing  themselves  as  a  Brahminical  caste  from  the 
north,  assuming  their  peculiarities  of  diet  and  dress,  even 
to  the  strings  and  other  marks  of  idolatry,  and  actually 
forging  a  document  in  the  native  tongue  to  prove  this  false- 
hood. Such  was  their  appearance ;  and  if  we  inquire  after 
their  doctrine,  we  are  told  that  they  allowed  their  converts 
to  bow  to  their  former  idols,  mentally  transferring  their  wor- 
ship to  the  crucifix  hid  within  their  clothes ;  and  in  countries 
where,  to  adore  a  crucified  god  would  be  deemed  insanity, 
they  suppressed  the  scandal  of  the  cross,  preaching  not  a 
suffering,  but  a  glorified  Messiah.  Robert  di  Nobili,  founder 
of  the  Madura  mission,  by  besmearing  his  countenance 
(with  heathen  marks),  and  imitating  the  painful  method 
of  living  of  the  Hindoo  devotees,  at  length  persuaded  the 
natives  that  he  was  himself  a  Brahmin  from  the  north,  and 
thus  gained  over  twelve  eminent  members  of  that  high  caste, 
whose  example  and  influence  led  to  many  conversions. 
Father  Jouvenci,  historian  of  the  order,  tells  us  that,  when 
the  authenticity  of  his  parchment  was  called  in  question,  he 
declared  upon  oath  that  he  sprang  from  the  god  Brahma, 
and  mentions  it  as  redounding  to  his  credit.  Justice  to  the 
memory  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  requires  me  to  add,  that 
he  solemnly  condemned  all  fraudulent  methods  of  conver- 
sion. The  testimony  of  Paschal  might  be  regarded  as 
suspicious ;  but  he  fortifies  it  by  an  appeal  to  the  decree 
of  the  Propagandi ;  arid  so  little  are  in  our  times  Roman 
Catholic  converts  trained  to  respect  truth,  that  the  Abbe 
Dubois  informs  us  that,  having  in  a  sermon  described  our 
Lord  as  the  reputed  son  of  a  carpenter,  and  his  apostles  as 
fishermen,  his  congregation  begged  that  if  he  had  again 
occasion  to  allude  to  their  birth,  he  would  describe  them  as 
of  the  noble  military  caste.  See  Abb^^  Dubois'  *  Letters  on 
the  State  of  Christianity  in  India,'  in  which  the  conversion 
of  the  Hindoos  is  considered  as  impracticable.  London,  1823. 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  517 

«He  confesses  that  in  a  degree  he  acted  upon  their  views ; 
for,  knowing  that  the  Hindoos  regarded  any  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  as  sinful,  he  was  cautious,  in  speaking  of  the 
elements  of  the  Eucharist,  to  call  the  wine  by  a  periphrasis 
more  palatable  to  their  taste.  Now,  I  do  say,  then,  that 
th«  popular  idea  of  the  Jesuits  is  the  true  one :  that  they 
are  "  a  crafty,  intriguing,  unscrupulous,  desperate,  murder- 
ous, and  exceedingly  able  body  of  men;  a  secret  society,, 
ever  plotting  against  liberty,  and  government,  and  progress."" 
I  turn  to  another  passage  in  Dr.  Newman's  volume.  He 
says,  "  This  broad  fact  of  Catholicism,  as  real  as  the  conti- 
nent of  America,  or  the  Milky  Way,  which  they  cannot 
deny.  Englishmen  will  not  entertain.  They  shut  their  eyeSy 
they  thrust  their  heads  into  the  sand,  and  try  to  get  rid  of 
a  great  vision,  a  great  reality,  under  the  name  of  Popery." 
Now,  we  admit  it  is  a  broad  fact,  an  historical  fact,  a  palpa- 
ple  fact.  We  met  it  in  Smithfield ;  it  stared  us  fn  the  face 
at  the  Reformation ;  and  we  should  feel  it  again,  were  the 
fact  to  become  as  broad  and  dominant  as  the  principles  yet 
unabjured,  and  the  passions  yet  unmortified,  held  and  nour- 
ished in  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood.  But- 
he  goes  on  to  say,  that  "  Catholicism  is  for  fifteen  hundred 
years  as  much  a  fact,  and  as  great  a  one  (to  put  it  on  the 
lowest  ground)  as  the  imperial  sway  of  Great  Britian  for  a 
hundred :  how  can  it  then  be  imbecile  or  extravagant  to  be- 
lieve in  it  and  to  join  it,  even  granting  it  were  an  error  ?  "" 
Now  mark  his  argument.  He  says  this,  "  Catholicism  is  a: 
gi-eat  fact,  fifteen  hundred  years  old :  how  can  it  then  be 
imbecile  or  extravagant  to  believe  in  it  and  to  join  it,  even; 
granting  it  were  an  error  ?  "  Now,  instead  of  arguing  against 
such  trash  soberly,  I  will  just  reply  almost  in  his  own  words  r 
—  Hindooism  is  a  gigantic  fact ;  a  fact  as  broad  as  the  ex- 
istence of  the  British  Empire  itself:  how  can  it  then  be  im- 
becile or  extravagant  to  believe  in  it  and  to  join  it,  evea: 
granting  it  were  an  error  ?  Mahometanism  is  a  vast  fact,  •— - 
44 


518  REVIEW    OF 

Jis  great  a  one  (to  put  it  on  the  lowest  ground)  as  the  vast# 
sway  of  Great  Britain :  how  can  it  then  be  imbecile  or  ex- 
travagant to  believe  in  it  and  to  join  it,  even  granting  it 
were  an  error  ?  I  have  only  to  go  round  the  cycles  of  the 
chief  of  the  religions  of  the  world,  and  apply  the  reasoning 
of  Dr.  Newman,  in  order  to  show  that  when  he  has  become 
tired  of  Roman  Catholicism,  he  may  adopt  Brahminism  or 
Mahometanism,  or  any  other  great  religious  system,  for  pre- 
cisely the  same  reason  as  he  here  adduces. 

He  states,  that  such  is  the  peculiarity  of  Englishmen,  that 
"  a  saint  in  rags  would  be  despised ;  in  broadcloth,  or  in  silk, 
he  would  be  thought  something  more  than  ordinary."  Now, 
there  is  no  church  upon  earth  in  which  silk  and  broadcloth 
play  so  conspicuous  a  part  as  in  the  church  of  Home ;  and 
in  contrast  to  that,  there  is  no  country  upon  earth  where  a 
man  is  more  valued  for  what  he  is,  and  less  respected  for 
what  he  wears,  than  our  own.  I  respect  the  good  man  and 
the  true  man,  if  he  swept  a  crossing  and  is  clothed  in  rags ; 
and  our  country  is  still  high  enough  in  moral  tone  to  disre- 
spect the  noblest  title,  if  it  is  only  the  appendage  of  an  in- 
famous or  immoral  man.  And  when  Dr.  Newman  says,  that 
it  is  the  characteristic  of  our  nation  to  despise  "  a  saint  in 
rags,"  and  to  think  "  something  more  than  ordinary  "  of  one 
"  in  broadcloth,  or  in  silk,"  he  is  Englishman  enough,  and 
has  lived  amongst  us  long  enough  to  know  that  what  he  says 
is  not  true.  He  adds  in  the  next  place,  "  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi,  bareheaded  and  barefooted,  would  be  hooted;  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  dressed  up  like  a  Mandarin,  with  an  um- 
brella over  his  head,  would  inspire  wonder  and  delight." 
Well,  now.  Father  Ignatius,  I  think  I  told  you,  visited  me 
bareheaded  and  barefooted,  and  he  admitted  that  I  treated 
him  with  Christian  courtesy.  Here  is  one  fact  which  goes 
to  disprove  Dr.  Newman's  statement.  But  I  should  not  be 
surprised  at  Englishmen  hissing  and  hooting  a  fanatic  like 
St.  Francis,  whose  history  and  exploits  are  described  in  the 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  519 

R)llowing  terms.  In  an  important  work  sanctioned  by  the 
Church  of  Rome,  called  "  Elogia  Sti.  Francisci,"  (Eulogies 
of  St.  Francis,)  it  is  said,  in  reference  to  that  passage  of  the 
Revelation,  vii.  2,  "  I  saw  another  angel  ascendhig  from  the 
east,  having  the  seal  of  the  living  God,"  that  Bonaven- 
tura,  and  also  Pope  Leo,  believed  that  this  angel  was  none 
<  other  than  the  blessed  St.  Francis.  And  when  you  know 
his  history  as  well  as  I  do,  you  will  say  that,  if  he  were  to 
appear  among  men  of  good  sense  and  real  piety,  they  might, 
perhaps,  if  they  did  not  help  him  to  a  lunatic  asylum,  at 
least  laugh  at  him.  For  instance,  this  book  which  I  have 
in  my  hand,  is  adorned  with  engravings  descriptive  of  the 
history  and  acts  of  this  saint.  The  first  shows  that  a  noble- 
man meets  St.  Francis,  as  a  boy,  and  instinctively  spreads 
his  cloak  before  him.  The  second,  that  St.  Francis  meets 
a  man,  a  leper,  and  cures  him  with  a  kiss.  The  third,  that 
St.  Francis  hears  a  voice  coming  from  the  cross.  Mind  you, 
this  is  a  saint  in  the  Breviary,  and  Dr.  Newman  prays  that 
he  may  be  benefited  by  his  intercession.  I  do  not  know 
that  it  would  be  courteous,  but  I  am  sure  the  more  we  know 
this  St.  Francis,  the  less  we  shall  appreciate  his  excellence. 
He  hears  a  voice  coming  from  Christ  upon  the  cross,  calling 
upon  him  to  arise  and  defend  the  church.  And  then  St. 
Francis  strips  himself,  in  the  height  of  his  piety,  and  the 
picture  represents  him  doing  so,  not  leaving  one  stitch  or 
rag  upon  himself,  and  handing  his  clothes  to  his  father.  In 
the  next  place,  St.  Francis  receives  from  Christ  the  rules  of 
his  order.  And  then,  the  Pope  is  represented  as  sleeping,  as 
he  sometimes  does,  in  his  easy  chair,  and  sees  St.  Francis 
supporting  the  church  about  to  fall  to  pieces. 

St.  Francis  next  appears,  with  his  hand  on  the  earth, 
supplicating  Mary  to  prevent  Christ  from  destroying  it. 
And  here  is  the  type  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church :  — 
Christ  is  regarded  as  incensed  with  mankind,  and  St.  Fran- 
cis pleads  with  the  blessed  Virgin  to  plead  with  Christ,  in 


520  KEVIEW    OF 

order  to  prevent  him  from  destroying  the  world.  The 
Komish  idea  is,  that  the  Saviour  is  an  angry  and  wrathful 
Judge,  lifted  far  above  us,  and  that  we  need  the  blessed 
Virgin  to  deprecate  his  wrath;  and  St.  Francis  is  repre- 
sented, with  a  crowd  around  him,  pleading  to  the  Virgin 
Mary,  who  is  represented  as  interceding  with  the  Saviour, 
who  is  represented  armed  with  thunderbolts,  ready  to  de- 
stroy the  world.  In  this  engraving,  St.  Francis  invites 
birds  and  beasts  and  other  creatures  to  his  presence,  and 
preaches  to  them.  Here  is  an  elephant  standing  and  listen- 
ing with  great  sobriety ;  next  an  interested  sheep ;  and 
here  is  an  owl  —  a  very  fit  symbol  of  the  church  he  repre- 
sents—  listening;  with  other  animals  —  in  short,  a  mena- 
gerie for  a  congregation.  And  all  this  is  told  of  one  of  Dr. 
Newman's  favorite  saints.  He  says,  we  should  hiss  him  and 
hoot  him.  I  do  not  know  that  we  should  do  so ;  but  I  am 
quite  sure  we  do  not  admire  the  anile  fables  related  of  a 
poor  fanatic,  who  has  passed  to  his  account,  still  less  a 
church  that  feeds  on  such  rubbish.  And  if  the  book  were 
a  mere  Protestant  squib,  I  would  not  quote  it ;  but  it  is  a 
book  of  authority.  Two  or  three  popes  authorize  its  pub- 
lication; diiferent  archbishops  and  cardinals  applaud  it; 
and  he  is  spoken  of  by  them  all  in  the  highest  terms  of  rap- 
ture. And  then,  for  St.  Francis  is  reserved  the  highest 
seat  in  heaven,  and  a  picture  is  given  of  his  being  elevated 
to  it.  In  this  engraving  I  here  exhibit,  St.  Francis  is 
represented  as  dragging  souls  from  purgatory,  where  they 
were  undergoing,  amid  flames,  the  torture  due  to  their  sins. 
And  it  is  stated  that  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  being  doubtful  as 
to  the  stigmata  or  wounds  of  St.  Francis,  St.  Francis 
appears  to  him,  and  convinces  -him  of  their  reality.  You 
are  aware  that  St.  Francis  is  said  to  have  received  the  five 
stigmata,  transferred  from  the  hands,  side,  and  feet  of 
Jesus.  St.  Francis  is  here  represented  as  lying  down, 
having  the  five  stigmata  in  the  shape  of  ''nes  coming  down, 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  521 

one  upon  his  breast,  two  upon  his  hands,  and  two  upon  his 
feet,  directly  from  a  crucifix ;  and  thus  St.  Francis  is  con- 
sidered a  sort  of  vice- Christ,  if  not  equal  to  the  Saviour. 
Well,  Pope  Gregory  IX.  doubted  whether  he  was  wounded, 
or  had  the  stigmata ;  as  he  well  might.  St.  Francis  appear- 
ed to  him,  and  showed  the  blood  pouring  out  from  his  heart 
into  a  cup,  and  the  pope  then  recognized  him  as  having 
them.  Su«h,  then,  is  an  authentic  Roman  Catholic  history 
of  the  exploits  of  St.  Francis,  whom  Dr.  Newman  says  that 
Protestants  would  hoot  and  hiss.  But  surely,  if  they  did  so, 
it  would  be,  not  for  the  rags  that  he  wore,  but  for  the  wretch- 
ed misapprehension  of  the  gospel,  and  of  the  excellence  of 
a  Christian,  of  which  he  seems  to  have  been  the  unhappy 
and  fanatical  victim. 

I  now  state  my  conviction,  that  the  grand  feature  in  this 
book  of  Dr.  Newman's  is  apparently  a  collection  of  the 
speeches  that  have  been  made  by  Protestants  on  various 
platforms,  and  by  changing  the  word  "  pope"  into  "  queen," 
and  "  popery"  into  "  protestantism,"  to  lay  to  our  charge  what 
Roman  Catholics  have  been  proved  guilty  of.  Now  I  will 
just  strike  out  certain  words,  and  put  certain  other  words 
in  their  places,  and  you  will  see  that  the  following  is  a  Prot- 
estant speech,  manufactured  and  made  up  by  Dr.  Newman. 
He  says, — 

Dr.  Nevv3IAN.  Dr.  Gumming. 

"Another  way  was  to  be  pursued  "Another  way  was  to  be  pursued 

with  our  couutiymen  to  make  Prot-  with  our  countrymen  to  make  Po- 

estantisra  live ;  and  that  was  to  em-  pery  live ;  and  that  was  to  embody 

body  it  in  the  person  of  its  sovereign,  it  in  the  person  of  its  Pope.  English 

English  Protestantism  is  the  religion  Popery  is  the  religion  of  the  Vati- 

of  the  throne:  it  is  represented,  re-  can:    it    is    represented,    rcahzed, 

alized,   taught,  transmitted  in  the  taught,  transmitted  in  the  succes- 

succession  of  monarchs  and  an  he-  sion  of  Popes    and   an  hereditary 

reditarj'^  aristocracy.    It  is  a  religion  priesthood.    It  is  a  religion  gi-afted 

grafted  upon  loyalty;  and  its  strength  upon    blind    submission;    and    its 

is  not  in  argument,  not  in  fact,  not  strength  is  not  in  argument,  not  in 

in  the  unanswerable  controversialist,  fact,  not  in  the  unanswerable  contro 

u* 


522 


REVIEW    OP 


not  in  an  apostolical  succession,  not 
in  sanction  of  Scripture,  but  in  a 
(Toyal  road  to  faith,  in  backing  up  a 
Mng  whom  men  see,  against  a  pope 
they  do  not  see.  The  devolution  of 
its  crown  is  the  tradition  of  its 
icreed ;  and  to  doubt  its  truth  is  to  be 
disloyal  towards  its  sovereign.  Kings 
are  an  Englishman's  saints  and  doc- 
tors; he  likes  somebody  or  some- 
thing at  which  he  can  cry  '  huzzah ! ' 
and  throw  up  his  hat.  Bluff  King 
Hal,  glorious  Bess,  the  royal  martyr, 
the  merry  monarch,  the  pious  and 
immortal  William,  the  good  King 
George,  royal  personages  very  dif- 
ferent from  each  other,  —  neverthe- 
less, as  being  royal,  none  of  them 
come  amiss,  but  all  are  the  objects 
of  his  devotion,  and  the  resolution 
•of  his  Christianity.  It  was  plain, 
then,  what  had  to  be  done  in  order 
to  perpetuate  Protestantism  in  a 
country  such  as  this.  Convoke  the 
Legislature,  pass  some  sweeping  ec- 
'Clesiastical  enactments,  exalt  the 
crown  above  the  law  and  the  gospel, 
down  with  the  cross  and  up  with  the 
lion  and  dog,  toss  all  px'iests  out  of 
the  country  as  traitors;  let  Protes- 
tantism be  the  passport  to  office  and 
authorit}^,  foi'ce  the  king  to  be  a 
Protestant,  make  his  court  Prot- 
estant, bind  Houses  of  Parliament 
to  be  Protestant,  clap  a  Protestant 
oath  on  judges,  barristers-at-law,  offi- 
cers in  ai-my  and  navy,  members  of 
the  universities,  national  clergy ;  es- 
tablish this  stringent  tradition  in 
-every  function  and  department  of 
the  state  —  surround  it  with  the  lus- 
tre of  rank,  wealth,  station,  name, 
and  talent,  and  this  people,  so  im- 
patient of  inquiry,  so  careless  of  ab- 
stract truth,  so  apothetic  to  histori- 


versialist,  not  in  an  apostolical  suc- 
cession, not  in  sanction  of  Scripture, 
but  in  a  papal  road  to  faith,  in  back- 
ing up  a  Pope  at  Eome  whom  men 
see  not,  against  a  Queen  in  England 
whom  they  do  see.  The  devolution 
of  the  papacy  is  the  tradition  of  its 
creed;  and  to -doubt  its  truth  is  to 
be  disobedient  towards  its  Pope. 
Popes  are  a  Romanics  saints  and 
doctors ;  he  likes  somebody  or  some- 
thing whose  great  toe  he  can  kiss. 
Hildebrand,  Pope  Joan,  the  rebel  k 
Becket,  Gregory  XIII.,  the  idolatrous 
Gregory  XV.,  the  runaway  footman, 
Pio  Nono,  papal  personages  very 
different  from  each  other,  —  nevei-- 
theless,  as  being  Popes,  none  of  them 
come  amiss,  but  all  are  the  objects 
of  his  devotion,  and  the  resolution 
of  his  Christianity.  It  was  plain, 
then,  Avhat  had  to  be  done  in  order 
to  perpetuate  Popery  in  a  country 
such  as  Italy.  Convoke  the  Bishops, 
pass  some  sweeping  ecclesiastical 
enactments,  exalt  the  tiara  above 
the  Bible,  down  with  the  cross  and 
up  with  the  crucifix,  toss  all  Prot- 
estants out  of  the  country  as  trai- 
toi-s ;  let  Popery  be  the  passport  to 
office  and  authority,  force  every 
king  to  be  a  Papist,  make  his  court 
Papist,  bind  Houses  of  Parliament 
to  be  Papist,  clap  a  Popish  oath  on 
judges,  barristers-at-law,  officers  in 
army  and  nav}^,  members  of  the 
universities,  national  clergy;  estab- 
lish this  stringent  tradition  in  every 
function  and  department  of  the 
state  —  sui-round  it  with  the  lustre 
of  rank,  wealtK,  station,  name,  and 
talent,  and  this  people,  so  impatient 
of  inquiry,  so  careless  of  abstract 
truth,  so  apathetic  to  historical  fact, 
so  contemptuous  of  foreign  ideas, 


DE.   NEWMAN  S    LECTURES. 


523 


cal  fact,  so  contemptuous  of  foreign 
ideas,  will,  ex  animo,  swear  to  the 
truth  of  a  religion  which  indulges 
their  natural  turn  of  mind,  and  in- 
volves no  severe  thought  or  tedious 
application.  The  sovereign  is  the 
source  and  the  centre,  as  of  civil,  so 
of  ecclesiastical  aiTangements ;  truth 
shall  be  synonj'raous  with  order  and 
good  government;  —  what  can  be 
simpler  than  such  a  teaching?  Pu- 
ritans may  stniggle  against  it,  and 
temporarily  prevail;  sceptics  may 
ridicule  it,  object,  expose,  and  re- 
fute; readers  of  the  fathers  may 
strive  to  soften  and  embellish  it 
with  the  colors  of  antiquity;  but, 
strong  in  the  constitution  of  the 
law,  and  congenial  to  the  heart  of 
the  people,  the  royal  tradition  will 
be  a  match  for  all  its  rivals,  and  in 
the  long  run  will  extinguish  the 
very  hope  of  competition." 


will,  ex  aniino,  swear  to  the  truth 
of  a  religion  which  indulges  their 
natural  turn  of  mind,  and  involves 
no  severe  thought  or  tedious  appli- 
cation. The  Pope  is  the  source  and 
centre,  as  of  civil,  so  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal arrangements;  truth  shall  be 
synonymous  with  order  and  good 
government ;  —  what  can  be  simpler 
than  such  a  teaching?  Jansenists 
may  struggle  against  it,  and  tempo- 
rarily prevail;  sceptics  may  ridi- 
cule it,  object,  expose,  and  refute; 
readers  of  the  fathers  may  strive  to 
soften  and  embellish  it  with  the 
colors  of  antiquity;  but,  strong  in 
the  canon  law,  and  congenial  to  the 
heart  of  the  priests,  the  papal  tradi- 
tion will  be  a  match  for  all  its  rivals, 
and  in  the  long  run  will  extinguish 
the  very  hope  of  competition." 


You  see,  then,  you  have  only  to  alter  a  few  words,  in 
order  to  detect  the  truth,  amid  the  vast  mass  of  rubbish 
under  which  Dr.  Newman  has  unhappily  buried  it. 

One  more  instance  of  this  kind  is  remarkable,  containing, 
however,  a  little  spice  of  disloyalty,  which  I  regret  to  see 
in  Dr.  Newman.  Now,  I  merely  alter  a  very  few  words, 
and  you  will  see  how  he  has  picked  up  a  Protestant  speech 
of  mine,  and  applied  it  to  his  own  purposes. 


Dr.  Newmax. 
"  This,"  he  says,  "  is  the  special 
charge  laid  upon  the  Establish- 
ment." You  see,  he  only  caHs 
it  the  "  Establishrpent,"  not  the 
"  Church."  "  Unitarians,  Sabel- 
lians,  Utilitarians,  ^fethodists,  Cal- 
vinists,  Swedenborgians,  Irvingites, 
Freethinkers  —  all  these  it  can  tol- 
erate in  its  very  bosom ;  but  Kome 


Dr.  Gumming. 
"This,"  I  say,  "is  the  special 
charge  laid  upon  Popery.  Francis- 
cans, Dominicans,  Puseyites,  R&- 
demptionists,  Jesuits,  Gallicans,  Or 
atorians,  Grey  Friars,  Black  Friars, 
White  Friars  —  all  these  it  can  tole- 
rate in  its  very  bosom :  no  form  of 
opinion  comes  amiss ;  but  the  Word 
of  God  it  cannot  abide.    It  agrees 


524 


REVIEW    OP 


it  cannot  abide.  It  agrees  to  differ 
with  its  children  on  a  thousand 
points  :  one  is  sacred  —  that  her 
Majesty  the  Queen  is  'the  mother 
and  mistress  of  all  churches;'  on 
one  dogma  it  may  rest  without  any 
mistake,  that  '  the  Bishop  of  Eome 
hath  no  jurisdiction  in  this  realm.' 
Here  is  sunshine  amid  the  darkness, 
sense  amid  confusion,  an  intelligible 
strain  amid  a  Babel  of  sounds; 
whatever  befalls,  here  is  sure  foot- 
ing; it  is, '  No  peace  with  Eome ! ' — 
*  Down  with  the  Pope ! '  and  '  The 
Church  in  danger ! '  Never  has  the 
Establishment  failed  in  the  use  of 
these  important  and  effective  watch- 
words; many  are  its  shortcomings, 
but  it  is  without  reproach  in  the 
execution  of  its  charge.  Heresy 
and  scepticism,  and  infidelity  and 
fanaticism,  may  challenge  it  in  vain ; 
but  fling  upon  the  gale  the  faintest 
whisper  of  Catholicism,  and  it  recog- 
nizes by  instinct  the  presence  of  its 
connatural  foe.  Forthwith,  as  dur- 
ing the  last  year,  the  atmosphere  is 
tremulous  with  agitation,  and  dis- 
charges its  vibration  far  and  wide. 
A  movement  is  in  birth,  which  has 
no  natural  crisis  or  resolution.  Spon- 
taneously the  bells  of  the  steeples 
begin  to  sound.  Not  by  an  act  of 
volition,  but  by  a  sort  of  mechani- 
cal impulse,  bishop  and  dean,  arch- 
deacon and  canon,  rector  and  curate, 
one  after  another,  each  on  his  high 
tGiver,  off  they  set,  swinging  and 
booming,  tolling  and  chiming,  with 
nervous  intenseness,  and  thickening 
emotion,  and  deepening  volume, — 
the  old  ding-dong  which  has  scared 
town  and  country  this  weary  time ; 
tolling  and  chiming  away,  jingling 
and    clamoring,    and   ringing    the 


to  differ  with  its  children  on  a  thou, 
sand  points :  one  is  sacred  -^  that  the 
Pope  is  the  infallible  head,  and 
Eome  the  mother  and  mistress  of 
all  churches ;  on  one  dogma  it  may 
rest  without  any  mistake,  that  '  the 
Word  of  God  hath  no  countenance 
in  her  realm.'  Here  is  sunshine 
amid  the  darkness,  sense  amid  con- 
fusion, an  intelligible  strain  amid  a 
Babel  of  sounds ;  whatever  befaUs, 
here  is  sure  footing;  it  is,  'No 
toleration  to  heretics ! '  '  Down  with 
the  Bible ! '  and  '  The  Pope  in  dan- 
ger ! '  Never  has  the  Popedom 
failed  in  the  use  of  these  important 
and  effective  watchwords;  many 
are  its  shortcomings,  but  it  is  with 
out  reproach  in  the  execution  of  its 
charge.  Immorality  and  licentious- 
ness, and  infidelity  and  fanaticism, 
may  challenge  it  in  vain ;  but  fling 
upon  the  gale  the  faintest  whisper 
of  Protestantism,  and  it  recognizes 
by  instinct  the  presence  of  its  con- 
natural foe.  Forthwith,  as  during 
the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
the  atmosphere  is  tremulous  with 
agitation,  and  discharges  its  vibra- 
tion far  and  wide.  A  movement  is 
in  birth,  which  has  no  natural  crisis 
or  resolution.  Spontaneously,  the 
bells  of  the  steeples  of  St.  Gennain 
de  r  Auxen-ois  sound.  Not  by  an 
act  of  volition,  but  by  a  sort  of  me- 
chanical impulse,  bishop  and  dean, 
archdeacon  and  canon,  rector  and 
curate,  one  after  another,  each  on 
hjs  high  tower,  off  they  set,  sAving 
ing  and  booming,  tolling  and  chim 
ing,  with  nerviiig  intenseness,  and 
thickening  emotion,  and  deepening 
volume  —  the  old  ding-dong  which 
has  scared  town  and  country  this 
weary  time;    tolling  and  chiming 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  525 

changes  on  their   poor   half-dozen  away,  jingling  and  clamoring,  and 

notes,  all  about '  the  Popish  aggres-  ringing  the  changes  on  their  poor 

sion,'  'insolent  and  insidious,'  'in-  half-dozen   notes,   all    about    'the 

sidious  and  insolent,'  '  insolent  and  Protestant    heresy,'    '  offensive    to 

atrocious,'     '  atrocious    and    inso-  princes,'  '  savoring  of  heresy,'  '  sus- 

lent,' "  etc.  pected  of  heresy,'  "  and  so  on. 


When  you  have  made  this  alteration,  you  find  that  it 
reads  exactly  in  the  way  that  it  ought  to  be  read  ;  and  that, 
had  he  not  been  looking  through  wrong  glasses,  and  made 
some  changes  that  he  wished,  it  would  have  been  all  per- 
fectly right. 

And  he  closes  this  remarkable  chapter  by  proceeding  to 
dispose  of  what  he  calls  popular  pr^udices.  "  The  Papists 
not  worship  the  Virgin  Mary !  Why,  they  call  her  *  Deipara,' 
which  means  ^  equal  to  God.' "  Now,  I  did  not  produce,  the 
last  time  I  was  here,  a  document  which  I  can  now  produce, 
which  will  show  that  the  popular  prejudice  is  a  just  and  true 
charge  against  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  Dr.  Newman 
sees  its  value,  and  feels  he  must  annihilate  it  in  order  to 
succeed.  You  have  all  heard  of  the  celebrated  Psalter 
called  "The  Psalter  of  the  blessed  Virgin."  The  simple 
history  of  it  is  this  :  —  Bonaventura  lived  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  and  was  canonized  a  hundred  years  after  his  death, 
that  is,  enrolled  among  the  saints  in  heaven,  and  once  a 
year  every  Roman  Catholic  uses  a  collect  especially  relating 
to  Bonaventura,  and  praying  that  he  may  learn  what  blessed 
Bonaventura  taught,  and  be  benefited  by  this  holy  inter- 
cession. This  Bonaventura  took  the  Psalms  of  David,  and 
expunged  from  every  Psalm  the  words  "  God  "  and  "  Lord," 
and  substituted  in  the  vacant  niche  the  "  Queen  of  heaven,'* 
"Our  Lady,"  "Blessed  Mary."  Now,  this  document  is 
worth,  I  am  told,  some  eight  or  nine  pounds ;  it  is  in  the 
black  letter,  and  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  specimens  of 
typography.  When  I  produced  it  first,  a  priest  denied  its 
authenticity,  and  said  it  was  a  forgery.     Well,  I  went  and 


526  REVIEW    OF 

consulted  the  Vatican  edition  of  Bonaventura's  work,  and 
found  it  in  the  original  Vatican  edition,  word  for  word,  as  I 
have  it  here.  After  1  had  stated  this,  another  priest  met 
me  in  public,  and  said,  "  No,  it  is  not  a  forgery ;  it  is  a  true 
production;  but  it  was  put  in. the  Index  Prohibitorius." 
Well,  I  secured  the  indexes,  and  looked  through  them  care- 
fully from  beginning  to  end,  but  did  not  find  it  there.  You 
will  notice,  however,  that  it  follows  from  this  priest's  state- 
ment, that  while  one  pope  may  be  so  charmed  with  a  man 
that  he  commands  the  people  to  pray  to  him,  another  pope 
may  be  so  shocked  with  the  same  man,  that  he  is  ready  to 
put  his  productions  in  the  Index  Prohibitorius,  and  thus 
forbid  any  one  to  read  them,  under  pain  of  mortal  sin ;  and 
this,  strange  to  say,  without  in  the  least  affecting  the  doc- 
trine of  papal  infallibility !  But  I  can  say  in  this  case,  to 
do  justice  to  the  canonizer  of  Bonaventura,  that  his  great 
work  isr  not  in  the  Index.  After  this  I  resolved  never  to 
relax  my  search  after  St.  Bonaventura:  and  this  autumn, 
being  on  the  Continent,  I  went  to  every  book  shop  from 
Amiens  to  Antwerp,  seeking  for  a  psalter  of  the  blessed 
Bonaventura.  In  some  cases  the  bookwoman  —  for  it  was 
generally  a  woman  —  looked  at  me  with  an  eye  of  great 
suspicion,  and  then  said  that  they  had  no  such  work. 
Another  person,  however,  to  whom  I  applied,  after  having 
almost  given  up  the  pursuit  in  despair,  §aid,  "  Yes,  we  have 
it;  and  this  that  I  have  in  my  hand  is  the  copy  that  I 
so  purchased  at  Lisle,  last  September.  It  is  called  "  Psau- 
tier  de  la  Sainte  Vierge,  composee  par  S.  Bonaventura. 
Lyons,  1849." 

The  person  I  purchased  it  from  said,  "  It  is  one  of  the 
most  popular  books  in  the  diocese  ;  "  and  it  happened  to  be 
then  the  week  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary :  and  that  week  is  a  great  week  there.  The  cathe- 
dral at  Amiens  was  crowded  on  the  day  of  the  Assumption, 
and  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  was  carried  around  the  aisles, 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  527 

and  the  people  seemed  for  that  day  to  entertain  some  sense 
of  religion.  But  on  the  Sunday  following,  the  places  of 
amusement  were  open,  the  streets  full,  and  every  one  in 
the  highest  state  of  worldly  jollity  and  excitement ;  and  we 
had  a  striking  proof  how  completely  the  traditions  of  the 
church  had  superseded  the  truths  of  the  Word  of  God. 
After  I  had  got  this  volume,  published  in  1849, 1  found  a 
friend  going  to  Paris,  and  I  asked  him  to  see  if  he  could 
find  me  another  copy  of  the  same  work.  He  bought  four 
copies,  and  out  of  those  copies  two  were  dated  1850 ;  and 
now  I  have  got  one  copy  printed  at  Lyons  ;  one  printed  at 
Paris;  one  at  Rouen:  one  dated  1845,  one  1849,  two 
1850,  and  one  1835  ;  and  I  may  add,  that  the  book  may  be 
purchased  at  thirteen-pence-halfpenny.  Now,  having  given 
you  the  history  of  the  book,  I  will  present  you  with  a  few 
extracts  from  it,  to  show  that  what  Dr.  Newman  charges, 
and  toils  to  dissipate  for  obvious  reasons,  as  a  popular 
prejudice,  namely,  that  the  Church  of  Rome  worships  the 
Virgin  Mary,  is  a  sober  and  truthful  statement,  capable  of 
being  word  for  word  established.  First  of  all,  this  book 
begins  with  an  invitation,  "  Come  unto  Mary,  all  ye  who 
are  heavy  laden,  and  she  will  give  you  rest."  That  is  the 
beginning  of  it.  Then  I  take  some  of  the  Psalms.  Here 
is  the  95th  Psalm,  "  O  come,  let  us  sing  unto  our  Lady : 
let  us  heartily  rejoice  in  the  strength  of  our  salvation.  Let 
us  come  before  her  presence  with  thanksgiving :  and  show 
ourselves  glad  in  her  with  psalms.  Let  us  adore,  and  fall 
down  before  her."  Now,  one  would  have  thought  that 
the  51st  Psalm  would  have  been  spared,  but  it  is  not:  here 
it  is,  "  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  Lady,  who  art  named  the 
Mother  of  mercy,  and  according  to  thy  bowels  of  compas- 
sion cleanse  me  from  all  my  transgressions."  And  the  84th 
Psalm  is  thus  rendered,  "  How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles, 
O  Mother  of  our  redemption  !"  And  then  the  103d  Psalm 
is,  "  0  bless  our  Lady ;  and  all  that  is  within  us  bless  her 
holy  name." 


528  REVIEW    OF 

I  dare  say  you  are  all  acquainted  with  a  document  called 
the  Atlianasian  Creed.  Some  think  that  it  is  objectionable : 
it  may  or  may  not  be  so ;  but  I  am  quite  sure  you  would 
dislike  ten  times  more  the  Church  of  Rome's  type  of  it : 
"  Whosoever  desires  to  be  saved,  it  is  necessary,  before  all 
things,  that  he  have  a  right  faith  concerning  Mary.  First 
of  all,  he  must  believe  that  she,  a  Virgin,  conceived,"  etc., 
etc.  There  is  another  excessively  beautiful  document, 
familiar  to  you  all  —  one  of  the  sublimest  things,  probably, 
in  any  tongue  —  older  than  the  Church  of  Rome  or  the 
Church  of  England  as  corporate  bodies  —  containing  the 
purest  sentiments,  —  a  meet  channel  for  a  Christian's  praises, 
and  worthy  of  God  to  accept  as  such.  It  is,  "  We  praise 
thee,  O  God :  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the  Lord.  All 
the  earth  doth  worship  thee,  the  Father  everlasting:  To 
thee  all  angels  cry  aloud,  the  heavens,  and  all  the  powers 
therein.  To  thee  Cherubim  and  Seraphim  continually  do 
cry.  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  art  thou :  O  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth, 
the  heavens  and  earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  thy 
glory.  The  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  praise  thee." 
Well,  here  it  is  according  to  Bonaventura :  "  We  praise 
thee,  O  Mary ;  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the  Mother  of 
God.  All  the  earth  doth  worship  thee,  the  spouse  of  the 
Eternal.  To  thee  all  angels  cry  aloud,  the  heavens,  and  all 
the  powers  therein.  To  thee  archangels,  to  thee  thrones 
and  principalities,  to  thee  all  powers  in  heaven  and  earth, 
continually  do  cry.  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  art  thou,  O  Mary, 
ever  a  Virgin.  The  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  praise 
thee.  The  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets  praise  thee. 
The  noble  army  of  martyrs  praise  thee.  The  holy  Church 
throughout  all  the  world  doth  acknowledge  thee.  Hear 
our  prayers,  O  Mary ;  make  us  to  be  numbered  with  thine 
own  in  glory  everlasting."  Then,  there  is  added  to  this 
what  is  called  a  Litany ;  and  this  Litany  begins :  "  O  God 
the  Father  of  heaven,  have  mercy  upon  us.    O  God  the 


529 

Son,  Redeemer  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  us.  O  God 
the  Holy  Ghost,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
have  mercy  upon  us."  And  then,  "  Be  merciful  to  us, 
and  spare  us,  O  Lady.  From  all  evil  and  mischief  deliver 
us,  O  Lady."  And  then  the  last  words,  which  are  here 
cancelled,  I  think  the  most  exquisite  in  their  original  form, 
are  these :  "  In  all  time  of  our  tribulation  ;  in  all  time  of 
our  wealth  ;  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, Good  Lord,  deliver  us."  I  remember,  that  when  I 
heard  them  first  in  an  English  parish  church  on  this  side 
of  the  Tweed,  I  thought  them  the  most  comprehensive 
words  of  prayer  that  I  had  ever  heard.  The  clergyman 
who  uttered  them  was  not  one  who  intoned  them  after  the 
new  style,  nor  yet  one  who  read  them  after  the  old  high 
and  dry  style,  but  one  who  prayed  them ;  and  when  he  did 
so,  I  thought  them  very  beautiful.  But  how  shocked  was 
I  when  I  found  that  sentence  thus  caricatured  by  Bona- 
ventura  :  "  In  all  time  of  our  tribulation ;  in  all  time  of  our 
wealth  ;  in  the  hour  of  death,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and 
from  the  torments  of  the  damned.  Deliver  us.  Blessed 
Mary."  Such,  then,  is  our  answer  to  Dr.  Newman's  state- 
ment, that  our  charge  against  the  Church  of  Rome  that  she 
worships  the  Virgin  Mary,  is  merely  a  popular  prejudice. 
I  say  it  is  a  charge  that  can  be  substantiated  by  docu- 
mentary evidence ;  and  either  he  must  admit  it  to  be 
strictly  true,  or  he  must  renounce  the  communion  to  which 
he  belongs,  and  declare  or  admit  that  she  has  grievously 
and  fatally  erred. 

He  says  another  of  the  popular  prejudices  is,  that  the 
Pope  is  the  Man  of  sin.  "  The  Pope  not  the  Man  of  sin  ! 
Why,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Romanists  distinctly  maintain  that 
*  the  Pope  is  God,  and  God  is  the  Pope. ' "  And  again  he 
says,  "  The  Pope's  teaching  not  a  doctrine  of  devils  !  Here 
is  a  plain  proof  of  it :  Cardinal  Bellarmine  expressly  main- 
tains, that  if  the  Pope  commanded  us  to  practice  vice  or 
45  » 


530  REVIEW    OF 

slum  virtue,  we  are  obliged  to  do  so  under  pain  of  eternal 
damnation.'  "  And  again,  "  Not  a  Pope  Joan !  Why,  she 
was  '  John  VIII. :  her  real  name  was  Gilberta ;  she  took 
the  name  of  John  English,  delivered  public  lectures  at 
Rome,  and  was  at  lengMi  unanimously  elected  Pope.' " 
The  most  distinguished  writers  of  his  church,  I  may  say,  in 
answer  to  this,  have  allowed  that  such  was  the  case.  Ro- 
dolphus  Flaviacensis,  a  Benedictine  Monk,  a.  d.  930,  says 
that  a  woman  was  Pope.  Marianus  Scotus  says  she  held 
tlie  papal  chair  two  years  and  five  months.  Martin,  one  of 
the  order  of  Minorites,  makes  the  same  assertion  in  his 
"  Flores  Temporum."  Francis  Petrarch,  and  Anthony, 
Archbishop  of  Florence,  and  Platina,  one  of  the  most  credi- 
ble historians,  and  Trithemius,  all  members  of  Dr.  New- 
man's church,  assert  that  such  a  female  was  the  Pope  of 
Rome.  And,  therefore,  it  is  very  unjust  in  Dr.  Newman  to 
assert,  that  what  is  Papal  testimony  is  a  mere  popular  pre- 
judice. It  will  not  be  so  easy  for  Dr.  Newman  to  remove 
these  popular  feelings. 

And  then  he  says,  "  What !  Councils  infallible !  Open 
your  eyes,  my  brother,  and  judge  for  yourself:  '  fifteen  hun- 
dred public  women  followed  the  train  of  the  Fathers  of 
Constance.'  "  Such  a  retinue  is  not  improbable,  judging  of 
it  by  the  character  of  some  of  the  fathers.  I  do  not  know 
whether  they  be  infallible  or  not ;  but  it  is  a  question  which 
Dr.  Newman  has  not  been  able  to  settle,  whether  infallibility 
is  lodged  in  the  Pope  or  in  a  general  council ;  and  it  is  a 
very  serious  question  too.  For  instance,  if  I  wish  to  know 
the  meaning  of  a  passage  of  the  Word  of  God,  if  I  were  to 
ask  the  Pope,  and  obtain  his  decision,  his  interpretation 
would  be  regarded  as  infallible  in  Italy,  but  as  fallible  in 
France.  And  again,  if  I  were  to  ask  the  same  question  of 
a  general  council,  its  decision  would  be  held  to  be  infallible 
in  France,  but  fallible  in  Italy;  and  many  Popes  would 
repudiate  it  as  fallible.     The  Council  of  Pisa  deposed  Bene 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  531 

diet  Xm.  and  Gregory  XIII.  as  heretics  in  the  fifteenth 
century  ;  and  the  Council  of  Basil  deposed  Eugenius  IV.  as 
a  her-etic,  and  he  turned  round  and  excommunicated  the 
Council  of  Basil,  calling  it  a  den  of  thieves  and  robbers. 
And  I  might  give  you  other  instances  where  councils  have 
excommunicated  popes,  and  where  popes  have  excommuni- 
cated councils ;  and  it  is  yet  an  unsettled  controversy, 
whether  infallibility  be  lodged  in  a  pope  or  in  a  general 
council;  and  yet  Dr.  Newman,  in  that  off-hand  manner 
which  characterizes  the  whole  of  his  remarkable  volume, 
treats  the  sentiments  on  the  subject  as  popular  prejudices, 
not  sober  facts.  It  is  much  easier  to  fling  off  a  charge  by 
branding  it  than  by  answering  it. 

And  again  he  says,  "  The  Papists  are  not  corrupters  of 
the  Scriptures !  Look  into  their  Bibles,  and  you  will  find 
they  read  the  prophecy  in  Genesis,  ^  She  shall  crush  thy 
head,  and  thou  shalt  lie  in  wait  for  her  heel.'  "  And  so  he 
insinuates  the  charge  is  to  be  regarded  with  scorn.  Now,  I 
hold  in  my  hand  a  Roman  Catholic  Bible,  and  the  verse  is 
correctly  quoted  by  Dr.  Newman,  "  She  shall  crush  thy 
head,  and  thou  shalt  lie  in  wait  for  her  heel."  But  he  forgot 
to  add  that  there  is  the  following  note  attached,  "  ipsa,  the 
woman ;  so  divers  of  the  fathers  read  this  place,  conform- 
able to  the  Latin  :  others  read  it  ipsum,  viz.,  the  seed.  The 
sense  is  the  same ;  for  it  is  by  her  seed,  Jesus  Christ,  that 
the  ivoman  crushes  the  serpent's  head."  And  I  do  assert 
the  language  which  Dr.  Newman  calls  popular  prejudice  to 
be  descriptive  of  fact.  Protestants  do  charge  the  Church 
of  Rome  with  corrupting  the  Scriptures;  and  I  am  pre- 
pared, in  the  presence  of  any  Roman  Catholic  priest,  to 
prove  that  this  is  literal  and  strict  fact,  and  that  Dr.  New- 
man's flourish  is  simply  a  Romish  ruse.  In  the  second 
chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  it  is  said,  at  the  third 
verse,  "  And  the  wine  failing,  the  mother  of  Jesus  saith  to 
him,  They  have  no  wine.    And  Jesus  saith  to  her,  Woman  " 


532  REVIEW    01 

—  as  in  the  Greek,  Tl  fiiol  %cd  aoi ;  as  in  our  Protestant 
version,  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ? "  or  as  some  emi- 
nent Greek  scholars  interpret  it,  "  What  hast  thou  to  do 
with  me  ? "  but  in  the  Roman  Catholic  version  it  stands 
thus,  "  Woman,  what  is  to  me  and  to  thee  ?  '  Now,  there 
is  no  meaning  in  this ;  there  is  no  sense  in  the  expression, 
"  What  is  to  me  and  to  thee  ?  "  But  a  Roman  Catholic  will 
argue,  "  It  is  the  literal  translation  of  the  words."  But  any- 
body who  knows  French  or  Italian,  knows  that  the  most 
rigid  literal  rendering  is  often  the  most  untrue  to  the  original. 
Every  language  has  its  idiomatic  phrases,  and  each  of  these 
must  be  rendered  accordingly.  Now  here  it  is  translated, 
"  What  is  to  me  and  to  thee  ?  "  But  suppose  the  rendering 
of  these  words  to  be  just,  and  the  translation  to  be  unexcep- 
tionable, let  me  say  that  the  words,  Tl  ifiol  >ial  ooi,  either  in 
the  singular  form  or  the  plural  form,  occur  about  eleven  times 
in  the  whole  Scriptures ;  that  is,  I  think,  about  five  or  six 
times  in  the  Greek  Septuagint  version  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  five  or  six  times  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 
Now,  ten  times,  or  in  every  instance  elsewhere,  the  Church 
of  Rome  renders  them  as  we  do,  "  What  have  I  to  do  with 
thee?"  but  the  eleventh  or  remaining  time  she  adopts  a 
strange  translation,  which  has  no  meaning  at  all.  Now,  is  it 
an  uncharitable  suspicion  that  one  is  compelled  to  give  utter- 
ance to,  that  she  saw  a  true  translation  before  her,  but, 
having  a  Bonaventura's  Psalter  also  before  her,  she  felt  she 
must  either  bring  up  her  worship  to  the  height  of  God's 
Word,  or  must  bring  down  God's  Word  to  the  level  of  her 
worship ;  and  that  in  an  evil  and  a  fatal  hour,  she  has  mis- 
translated the  Word  of  God  in  order  to  make  it  speak  what 
it  refuses  except  by  torture  to  speak,  —  the  dogmas  of  Ro- 
man Catholic  superstition  ?  Now,  I  will  give  you  another 
instance  of  it,  to  show  that  what  he  designates  popular  preju- 
dice, is  true  and  warrantable  conviction.  In  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  there  occurs  the  fol- 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  533 

lowing  passage,  "By  faith  Jacob,  when  he  was  a  dying, 
blessed  both  the  sons  of  Joseph ;  and  worshipped  leaning 
upon  the  top  of  his  staff."  Well,  that  is  our  translation ; 
but  the  Roman  Catholic  one,  which  you  may  have  heard,  is, 
"  By  faith  Jacob,  dying,  blessed  each  of  the  sons  of  Joseph, 
and  adored  the  top  of  his  rod."  Well,  I  say,  this  translation 
may  be  just,  or  it  may  not ;  upon  the  critical  argument  1  do 
not  now  enter ;  but  I  refer  to  a  note  on  it,  which  shows  that 
the  Church  of  Rome  sometimes,  like  Homer  of  old,  takes  a 
nap,  and  forgets  what  she  said  in  the  Old  Testament  notes, 
in  her  manufacture  of  New  Testament  illustration.  The 
note  referring  to  this  text  is  as  follows :  "  Some  translators, 
who  are  no  friends  to  this  relative  honor,  have  corrupted  the 
text  by  translating  it.  He  worshipped  leaning  upon  the  top  of 
his  staff,  as  if  this  circumstance  of  leaning  upon  his  staff 
were  any  argument  of  Jacob's  faith,  or  worthy  the  being 
thus  particularly  taken  notice  of  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  You 
observe  that  tlie  argument  of  the  note  is,  that  it  is  so  trivial 
a  thing  that  the  Holy  Ghost  would  not  have  taken  notice  of 
it,  although  we  should  think  otherwise ;  for  it  is  a  character- 
istic of  God,  that  while  he  upholds  the  archangel  in  his 
flight,  he  ministers  to  the  ephemeral  insect  upon  its  wing ; 
and  while  nothing  is  so  great  as  to  be  above  his  power,  noth- 
ing is  so  minute  as  to  be  beneath  his  loving  inspection. 

But,  allowing  that  argument  to  pass,  I  turn  to  the  book  of 
Tobias  (xi.  9),  which  the  Church  of  Rome  regards  as  an 
inspired  book,  where  I  find  the  following  text:  "  Then  the  dog 
which  had  been  with  them  in  the  way  ran  before,  and  coming 
as  if  he  had  brought  the  news,  showed  his  joy  by  his  fawning 
and  wagging  his  tail."  Upon  this  iQ^t,  which  is  the  only 
text  in  the  whole  chapter  selected  for  notation,  there  is  the 
following  note  (chap.  ix.  ver.  9)  :  "  The  dog,  etc.  —  This  may 
seem  a  very  minute  circumstance  to  be  recorded  in  sacred 
history ;  but,  as  we  learn  from  our  Saviour,  St.  Matt.  v.  18, 
there  are  iotas  and  tittles  in  the  Word  of  God ;  that  is  to 
45* 


534  REVIEW   OF 

say,  things  that  appear  minute,  but  which  have  indeed  a 
deep  and  mysterious  meaning  in  them."  Now  observe, 
when  the  patriarch  leaned  upon  the  top  of  his  staff  and 
prayed,  it  seems  we  could  not  suppose  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
would  take  notice  of  it ;  but  when  the  dog  of  Tobias  comes 
in  wagging  his  tail,  then,  the  mention  of  so  little  a  thing  is 
an  evidence  that  minute  things  are  full  of  precious  and  in- 
structive meaning. 

Now,  I  might  give  other  specimens  of  the  same  sort ;  and 
the  proof  would  be  irresistible,  that  the  popular  apprehensions 
of  Rome  are  too  true  to  be  convenient  to  the  Romish  hie- 
rarchy ;  and  Dr.  Newman  must  fail,  wherever  the  stratagem 
is  seen  through,  to  render  suspected  and  renounced,  popular 
charges  and  popular  convictions  that  are  the  echoes  of  truth. 
And  you  may  observe,  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Bible  has 
what  are  called  "  the  Apocrypha  "  added  to  it.  The  Church 
of  Rome  asserts  that  the  apocryphal  books  are  just  as  truly 
inspired  as  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John  or  St.  Matthew. 
Now  the  answer  to  that  is,  —  These  books,  called  the  Apoc- 
rypha, were  never  written  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  in  which 
the  rest  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  the  exception  of  part  of 
the  Book  of  Daniel,  was  written.  Secondly,  these  books 
were  never  accepted  by  the  Jews,  to  whom  were  committed 
the  oracles  of  God ;  and  it  may  be  remarked,  that  whatever 
they  failed  in,  they  never  failed  in  keeping  God's  Word  in 
its  integrity.  And  another  peculiarity  is,  that  their  very 
superstitions  were  overruled  to  the  preservation  of  the  Word 
of  God.  The  Jews  could  tell  what  was  the  middle  para- 
graph of  a  book,  what  was  the  middle  sentence,  what  was 
the  middle  word,  and  even  the  middle  letter ;  also,  how  many 
words  or  letters  it  contained.  And  by  this  accurate  count- 
ing of  the  Word  of  God,  it  was  preserved  and  handed  down 
to  the  apostles.  In  the  next  place,  the  apostles  and  our 
Blessed  Lord  never  once  quote  from  the  Apocrypha.  And 
in  the  next  place,  what  is  very  remarkable,  and  especially 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  535 

60  in  regard  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  there  is  not  one  of  the 
fathers  that  accepts  all  the  books  of  the  Apocrypha  as  in- 
spired. There  is  one  who  recognizes  Baruch,  but  all  the 
rest  discard  the  whole.  Gregory  the  Great  says,  the  books 
of  Maccabees  are  not  inspired.  Pius  IX.  signs  a  solemn 
creed,  professing  that  they  are  inspired.  If  both  Popes  are 
infallible,  it  is  difficult  to  state  how  both  can  be  right. 

Dr.  Newman  adds  what  he  calls  another  popular  preju- 
dice. "  Popery  preach  Christ !  No !  *  Popery,'  as  has 
been  well  said,  '  is  the  religion  of  priestcraft ;  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  it  is  nothing  but  priest,  priest,  priest.' " 
Well  now,  I  assert,  that  for  all  great  and  practical  results, 
Christ  is  not  preached  in  the  Church  of  Rome ;  but  that 
Popery  is  what  the  popular  apprehension  proclaims  it  to 
be,  —  a  grand  caricature  and  perversion  of  the  distinctive 
peculiarities  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Take  any  one  doc- 
trine ;  for  instance,  the  church.  What  is  the  church  ?  The 
normal  idea  of  Christ's  church  is,  "  Wheresoever  two  or 
three  are  met  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them."  And  we  need  in  these  days  often  to  learn  that 
form,  ceremony,  modes  of  worship,  may  be,  one  preferable  to 
another,  one  more  beautiful  or  one  more  spiritual  than 
another ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  modes  of  discipline 
and  government ;  one  may  be  more  ancient  and  more  con- 
formed to  Scripture  than  another;  but  the  original  idea  of 
Scripture  as  to  the  church  —  its  root  and  norm  —  is  this, 
"  Wheresoever  two  or  three  are  met  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  We  shall  need  to  learn, 
in  days  that  are  coming,  that  an  orator  may  collect  a  crowd, 
but  Christ  in  the  midst  of  it  can  alone  constitute  it  a  church. 
An  architect  may  raise  a  beautiful  cathedral,  in  which  the 
very  stone  shall  seem  to  burst  into  blossom,  and  to  be  itself 
a  beautiful  poem  —  a  living  thought,  a  sublime  epic ;  but 
unless  the  Lord  of  glory  descend  into  the  cathedral,  it  re- 
mains a  beautiful  device  ;  but  a  church  of  the  living  God  it 


536  REVIEW    OF 

is  not  and  It  cannot  be.  If  our  Queen  take  up  her  residence 
in  the  humblest  hut,  that  hut  becomes  a  palace ;  if  she  re- 
fuse to  enter  the  most  magnificent  creation  of  architectural 
genius,  that  creation  remains  a  grand  building.  And  so  it 
is,  —  the  Saviour  alone  in  the  midst  of  two  or  three,  is  the 
essential  and  the  vital  element  of  a  Christian  church ;  in  the 
absence  of  which,  all  the  rest,  however  orderly  and  beauti- 
ful, is  vain ;  —  and  the  presence  of  Jesus  is  so  precious,  that 
one  can  forgive  much  that  may  be  irregular,  in  order  to 
rejoice  and  bless  God  for  this.  But  in  the  creed  of  Rome, 
the  church  is  a  gigantic  ecclesiastical  corporation,  overshad- 
owing the  Saviour  —  not  proclaiming  him  —  putting  the 
Virgin  practically  in  his  place  —  superseding  some  of  the 
distinctive  peculiarities  of  his  sacrifice,  and  teaching  for 
doctrines  the  commandments  of  men.  Again,  in  the  Prot- 
estant Church  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  is  an  ambassador, 
a  deacon,  a  presbyter,  a  bishop,  an  evangelist,  a  preacher,  or 
if  there  be  any  other  name ;  but  in  the  Church  of  Rome  he 
is  an  legtvg,  a  sacrificing  priest.  A  Roman  Catholic  priest 
is  not  ordained  to  preach  the  Gospel  at  all ;  he  is  ordained, 
when  the  Romish  bishop  puts  into  his  hands  a  patina  and  a 
cup,  to  offer  up  a  sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead — but 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  not  his  function ;  he  is  not 
ordained  to  do  so.  In  the  Protestant  Church  the  minister 
who  does  not  preach  the  Gospel  may  trace  the  links  of  his 
lineage  to  Paul,  but  he  is  not  a  true  minister  still.  He  may 
be  the  most  learned  and  illustrious  divine  in  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land ;  but  if  he  is  dumb  where  he  ought  to 
be  eloquent,  and  preaches  another  Gospel  where  he  ought 
to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  he  is  not  a  true  minister 
still.  And  days  are  coming,  my  dear  friends,  when  we  must 
rally  round  those  who  love  and  uphold  the  Gospel.  Bread 
we  must  have,  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  God's 
great  ordinance  for  giving  us  that  bread  ;  and  if  we  cannot 
have  bread  in  church  A.,  we  must  seek  bread  in  church  B. 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  537 

The  church  exists  for  distributing  living  bread,  and  without 
it  we  cannot  live  happy  —  without  it  we  cannot  die  safe. 
But  in  the  Church  of  Rome  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  is 
lost  in  the  priest. 

In  the  Church  of  England  there  is  no  such  officer  as  a 
sacrificing  priest,  nor  in  any  other  section  of  the  Protestant 
Church.  The  word  "  priest "  in  the  English  Church  is  de- 
rived from  "  presbyter,"  which  is  the  origin  of  our  English 
word  "  priest."  The  Church  of  England  has  not  an  altar ; 
if  the  Church  of  England  had  an  altar,  it  would  be  so 
said ;  but  on  looking  into  the  Prayer  book  I  find  only  "  the 
Lord's  table"  mentioned;  and  it  states,  that  that  table 
ought  to  be  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  congregation.  The 
highest  P^nglish  Churchman  ought  to  have  his  communion 
table  in  the  middle  of  the  congregation,  instead  of  having  it 
placed  in  the  east.  I  would  not  change  it  where  it  happens 
to  be ;  but  if  I  were  to  build  a  church,  I  think,  in  these 
days,  I  would  just  place  the  communion  table  where  the 
liubric  orders  it  to  be  placed  —  in  the  middle  of  the  con- 
gregation. And  again,  no  section  of  the  Protestant  Church 
has  any  propitiatory  sacrifices,  and  therefore  we  have  no  use 
for  a  priest.  The  Lord's  Supper  commemorates  a  sacrifice 
that  is  finished,  but  it  is  not  itself  a  sacrifice.  If  it  be  a 
sacrifice,  it  is  no  sacrament ;  if  it  be  a  sacrament,  it  is  no 
sacrifice.  A  sacrifice  is  something  we  offer  to  God ;  a  sa- 
crament is  something  God  gives  to  us.  If  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per be  a  sacrament,  it  is  not  a  sacrifice ;  if  it  be  a  sacrifice, 
it  is  not  a  sacrament.  But  while  the  Protestant  Church  has 
no  sacrifice,  no  priest,  no  altar,  we  have,  material  and  visible 
to  the  eye,  all  three  merged  and  perfected  in  one  Christ, 
our  High-Priest ;  the  altar  that  sanctifies  the  gift,  the  sacri- 
fice once  for  all,  never  to  be  repeated,  for  the  sins  of  all 
that  believe.  We  have  not  a  priest  who  dies  and  needs  a 
successor ;  for  Christ  lives  for  ever.  We  have  not  a  sacri- 
fice so  incomplete  that  it  needs  to  be  repeated,  for  this  He 


538  REVIEW    OP 

did  once  for  all.  -And  we  have  not  an  altar  that  a  mouse  can 
undermine,  that  a  stroke  of  a  hammer  can  overturn ;  but  an 
altar  whose  base  is  the  Everlasting  Rock,  whose  cement  is 
living  love,  and  on  which  there  burns  and  glows  a  glory 
that  never  shall  be  quenched,  —  mercy  and  truth  that  have 
met  together,  and  righteousness  and  peace  that  have  kissed 
and  embraced  each  other.  And  if  I  take  a  view  of  other 
peculiarities  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  I  find  the  same  gross 
perversion  of  every  thing.  I  find  Christ  is  practically 
superseded  by  the  Virgin  —  the  cross  by  the  crucifix  — 
Christ's  priesthood  by  a  human  priesthood —  Christ's  Word 
by  the  decisions  of  councils,  the  decrees  of  Popes,  the  tradi- 
tions of  man. 

But  I  turn,  in  the  last  place,  to  the  charges  which  Dr. 
Newman  brings  against  Protestants  for  persecution.  He 
says,  "  Whatever  theoretical  differences  it "  (Protestant- 
ism) "has  had  on  this  subject  with  the  Catholic  religion, 
it  has,  in  matter  of  fact,  ever  shown  itself  a  persecuting 
power.  It  has  persecuted  in  England,  in  Scotland,  in  Ire- 
land, in  Holland,  in  France,  in  Germany,  in  Geneva. 
Calvin  burnt  a  Socinian,  Cranmer  an  Anabaptist,  Luther 
advised  the  wholesale  murder  of  the  fanatical  peasants, 
and  Knox  was  party  to  bloody  enactments  and  bloody 
deeds."  And  then  he  goes  on  to  say,  quoting  from  another 
writer,  "  It  is  true,  that  the  Popes  have  not  preached,  like 
the  Protestants,  universal  toleration;  but  the  facts  show 
the  difference  between  the  Protestants  and  the  Popes.  The 
Popes,  armed  with  a  tribunal  of  intolerance,  have  scarce 
spilt  a  drop  of  blood ;  Protestants  and  philosophers  have 
shed  it  in  torrents."  Now,  can  you  conceive  any  man 
standing  up  and  publishing  such  a  statement  as  that  in  the 
English  tongue,  in  a  book  that  is  now  sold,  and  extensively 
read  by  others  than  members  of  the  Church  of  Rome?  But 
first  let  us  hear  about  Calvin.  "  Calvin,"  he  says,  "  burnt  a 
Socinian."    I  do  not  justify  the  conduct  of  Calvin  on  that 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  539 

occasion  ;  but  what  Calvin  did  ought  to  be  truly  and  fairly- 
known.  In  the  first  place,  I  may  state,  that  poor  Servetus 
had  just  escaped  from  the  fangs  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
by  whom  he  had  been  imprisoned  for  heresy;  and  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  ever  since  been  angry  that  Calvin 
should  have  had  the  privilege  of  acquiescing  in  a  death 
which  they  wished  to  have  the  joy  of  executing  themselves. 
And,  in  the  next  place,  when  Servetus  came  to  Geneva, 
he  was  imprisoned  by  the  civil  law,  then  proscriptive  and 
intolerant,  not  by  any  ecclesiastical  decision.  And,  in  the 
next  place,  Calvin,  it  has  been  proved,  acquiesced  in  his 
imprisonment,  but  not,  I  conceive,  in  his  burning.  But  I 
will  admit  Dr.  Newman's  charge  that  he  did  so.  "  Cranmer," 
he  says,  "  burnt  an  Anabaptist."  The  Parker  Society  have 
lately,  and  perhaps  successfully,  tried  to  vindicate  Cranmer 
from  this  aspersion ;  but  let  me  grant  that  he  did  so.  John 
Knox  certainly  frequently  proclaimed  that  idolaters  —  and 
by  that  he  meant  Roman  Catholic  priests  —  ought  to  be  put 
to  death ;  though  it  is  not  true  that  his  hands  were  stained 
by  the  blood  of  a  single  victim.  But  what  does  all  this 
prove?  These  men  were  once  priests  in  the  Church  of 
Rome;  they  had  been  drilled  in  proscription  from  their 
earliest  infancy,  and  taught  from  the  pages  of  canonists, 
from  the  decisions  of  the  Fourth  Lateran,  and  Innocent  III., 
from  the  ever  growing  canon  law,  from  the  episcopal  oath, 
that  to  put  a  man  to  death  because  of  the  tenets  that  he  held, 
was  a  sacred  and  solemn  duty.  This  was  the  creed  of  Rom- 
ish Christendom  before  the  Reformation.  And  if  Cranmer, 
and  Calvin,  and  Knox  in  many  instances  persecuted,  my 
amazement  is,  that,  coming  out  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
where  persecution  was  taught  as  a  duty,  they  indulged  in  it 
so  little,  and  can  be  historically  charged  with  so  faint  a  sym- 
pathy with  it  as  that  which  Dr.  Newman  alleges  in  the 
course  of  this  volume.  If  they  were  persecutors,  the  church 
that  educated  them  bears  the  guilt  of  it.    And  I  admit,  that 


540  REVIEW    01 

the  Reformers  and  the  early  Christian  ministers  for  a  hun- 
Jred  years  after  the  Reformation  still  cherished  the  senti- 
ment, that  a  person  should  be  persecuted  or  punished 
corporally  for  the  religious  principles  or  errors  that  he  held ; 
the  last  dogma  that  the  Reformers  got  rid  of,  was  that  very 
popular  dogma  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  But  if  they 
accepted  it,  it  is  the  mother  who  taught  it  them,  who  ought 
to  be  blamed  as  well  as  the  children  who  learned  tjae  lessons. 
But  then,  granting  they  did  all  this,  if  the  Church  of 
England  retain  in  her  articles,  or  if  any  section  of  the  Prot- 
estant Church  hold  in  its  creed,  that  heretics  ought  to  be 
put  to  death,  then  it  is  quite  fair  that  the  bad  deeds  of 
Calvin,  and  the  sins  of  Cranmer,  and  the  iniquity  of  John 
Knox,  should  be  thrown  in  our  face  as  effects  of  what  we 
are  and  hold  ;  but  what  is  the  fact  ?  The  Church  of  Rome 
retains  persecution  in  her  laws  and  authorized  works ;  the 
Protestant  Church  repudiates  it ;  and  if  we  admit  that  we 
were  both  wrong  two  hundred  years  ago,  we  ask,  Who  con- 
tinues in  the  wrong  ?  one  has  refused  to  be  reformed,  and 
the  other  has  reformed  herself,  and  abjured  alike  the  wrong 
principle  and  wrong  doing.  If  Dr.  Newman's  church  will 
come  forward  in  the  face  of  England  and  say,  "  I  grieve 
for  the  crimes  of  the  past ;  I  admit  that  the  Church  of 
Rome  has  had  her  hands  stained  with  blood;  but  the 
Church  of  Rome,  in  the  year  1851,  repudiates  the  decree  of 
the  4th  Lateran,  the  Canon  Law,  the  persecuting  clauses  in 
the  Episcopal  Oath,  Liguori,  De  Castro,  etc.,  and  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  patronage  of  Alphonso  de  Castro, 
or  with  the  Jesuits,  but  is  prepared  to  do  as  Clement 
XIV.,  —  to  disband  them  altogether;"  —  if  he  will  say  this, 
we  will  forget  and  forgive  the  past,  and  Ave  shall  run  a  new 
career,  conforming  to  the  example  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and 
both  be  rivals  in  renown,  and  sisters  in  aim  and  in  progress. 
But  the  Church  of  Rome  will  not  do  so,  —  she  cannot 
do  so.     She  retains  persecution  as  a  principle,  while  the 


DR.   NEWMAN'S    LECTURES.  541 

Protestant  Church  has,  without  exception  and  univer- 
sally, repudiated  it.  But  to  show  you  how  truly  the 
Church  of  Rome  holds  it,  and  how  reasonably  I  am  amazed 
at  Dr.  Newman's  strange  assertion  about  his  church  not 
persecuting,  and  about  Protestants  being  the  greater  perse- 
cutors, I  copy  a  passage  from  the  "  Rambler,"  a  publication 
conducted,  I  believe,  by  Mr.  Faber,  —  but  I  may  be  mis- 
taken in  that,  —  but  conducted  certainly  by  new  perverts 
from  Protestant  churches  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  Now 
what  does  this  modern  periodical,  being  published  only  in 
the  course  of  last  summer,  say  ?  "  We  are  children  of  a 
church  which  has  ever  avow^ed  the  deepest  hostility  to  the 
principles  of  *  religious  liberty,'  and  which  has  never  given 
the  shadow  of  a  sanction  to  the  theory  that '  civil  liberty,'  as 
such,  is  necessarily  a  blessing  to  all.  How  intolerable  it 
is  to  see  this  miserable  device  for  deceiving  the  Protestant 
world,  still  so  widely  popular  among  us !  We  say,  ^  for 
deceiving  the  Protestant  world ; '  though  we  are  far  enough 
from  implying  that  there  is  not  many  a  Catholic  who  really 
imagines  himself  to  be  a  votary  of '  religious  liberty,'  and 
is  confident  that,  if  the  tables  were  turned,  and  the  Catho- 
lics were  uppermost  in  the  land,  he  would  in  all  circum- 
stances grant  others  the  same  unlimited  toleration  he  now 
demands  for  himself.  Still,  let  our  Catholic  tolerationist 
be  ever  so  sincere,  he  is  only  sincere  because  he  does  not 
take  the  trouble  to  look  very  closely  into  his  own  convic- 
tions. His  great  object  is  to  silence  Protestants,  or  to 
persuade  them  to  let  him  alone  ;  and  as  he  certainly  feels 
no  personal  malice  against  them,  and  laughs  at  their  creed 
quite  as  cordially  as  he  hates  it,  he  persuades  himself  that 
he  is  telling  the  exact  truth,  when  he  professes  to  be  an  ad- 
vocate of '  religious  liberty,'  and  declares  that  no  man  ought 
to  be  coerced  on  account  of  his  conscientious  convictions. 
The  practical  result  is  that,  now  and  then,  but  very  seldom, 
Protestants  are  blinded,  and  are  ready  to  clasp  their  unex- 
46 


542  REVIEW    OF 

pected  ally  in  a  fraternal  embrace.  They  are  deceived,  W6 
repeat,  nevertheless.  Believe  us  not,  Protestants  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  !  for  an  instant,  when  you  hear  us  pour- 
ing forth  our  liberalisms.  When  you  hear  a  Catholic 
orator  at  some  public  assemblage  declaring  that  '  this  is 
the  most  humiliating  day  of  his  life,  when  he  is  called  upon 
to  defend  once  more  the  glorious  principle  of  religious 
freedom,'  —  be  not  too  simple  in  your  credulity.  These  are 
brave  words,  but  they  mean  nothing,  no,  —  nothing  more 
than  the  promises  of  a  parliamentary  candidate  to  his  con- 
stituents on  the  hustings.  He  is  not  talking  Catholicism, 
but  Protestantism  and  nonsense ;  and  he  will  no  more  act 
on  these  notions,  in  different  circumstances,  than  you  now 
act  upon  them  yourselves  in  your  treatment  of  him.  You 
ask,  If  he  were  lord  in  the  land,  and  you  w^ere  in  a  minority, 
if  not  in  numbers,  yet  in  power,  what  would  he  do  to 
you?  That,  we  say,  would  depend  entirely  upon  circum- 
stances. If  it  would  benefit  the  cause  of  Catholicism,  he 
would  tolerate  you ;  if  expedient,  he  would  imprison  you, 
banish  you,  fine  you,  and  possibly,  even  hang  you !  But  be 
assured  of  one  thing :  he  would  never  tolerate  you  for  the 
sake  of  *  the  glorious  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.' 
Religious  liberty,  in  the  sense  of  a  liberty  possessed  by  every 
man  to  choose  his  own  religion,  is  one  of  the  most  wicked 
delusions  ever  foisted  upon  this  age  by  the  father  of  all 
deceit.  The  very  name  of  liberty  —  except  in  the  sense  of 
a  permission  to  do  certain  definite  acts  —  ought  to  be  ban- 
ished from  the  domain  of  religion.  It  is  neither  more  nor 
less  than  a  falsehood.  No  man  has  a  right  to  choose  his 
religion.  None  but  an  Atheist  can  uphold  the  principles  of 
religious  liberty.  Shall  I,  therefore,  fall  in  with  this  abom- 
inable delusion?  Shall  I  foster  that  damnable  doctrine, 
that  Socinianism,  and  Calvinism,  and  Anglicanism,  and 
Judaism,  are  not,  every  one  of  them,  mortal  sins,  like  mur- 
der and  adultery  ?     Shall  I  hold  out  hopes  to  my  erring 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  543 

Protestant  brother,  that  I  will  not  meddle  with  his  creed,  if 
if  he  will  not  meddle  with  mine  ?  Shall  I  tempt  him  to  forget 
that  he  has  no  more  right  to  his  religious  views  than  he  has 
to  my  purse,  or  my  house,  or  my  life  blood  ?  jSTo  !  Catholi- 
cism is  the  most  intolerant  of  creeds.  It  is  intolerance  itself, 
for  it  is  the  truth  itself.  We  might  as  rationally  maintain 
that  a  sane  man  has  a  right  to  believe  that  two  and  two  do 
not  make  four,  as  this  theory  of  religious  liberty.  Its  impiety 
is  only  equalled  by  its  absurdity."  Now,  such  is  the  lan- 
guage of  a  Roman  Catholic  periodical  conducted  by  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  perverts  from  the  Protestant  church. 
It  is  most  manly  and  most  honest,  and  just  what  one  would 
expect  from  an  honest  man.  It  is  the  echo  of  the  encyclical 
Bull  of  Gregory  XVI.  in  the  year  1832,  which  speaks  of 
"  liberty  of  conscience,  that  execrable  and  detestable  error." 
Such  writers  as  this  in  the  "  Rambler,"  simply  echo  the 
sentiments  of  their  great  head,  the  Pope.  I  have  another 
extract  from  "  L'Univers,"  the  organ  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  in  France  ;  and  you  may  be  aware  that  a  very 
celebrated  bishop  in  France  has  forbidden  every  newspaper 
but  this  to  the  priesthood  of  his  diocese,  and  they  obediently 
comply  with  his  commands.  Now,  there  appeared  in 
"L'Univers,"  only  a  few  months  ago,  the  following:  "A 
heretic,  examined  and  convicted  by  the  church,  used  to  be 
delivered  over  to  the  secular  power,  and  punished  with 
death.  Nothing  has  ever  appeared  to  us  more  natural,  or 
more  necessary.  More  than  one  hundred  thousand  persons 
perished,  in  consequence  of  the  heresy  of  Wicliif ;  a  still 
greater  number  by  that  of  John  Huss ;  it  would  not  be 
possible  to  calculate  the  bloodshed  caused  by  the  heresy  of 
Luther,  and  it  is  not  yet  over.  After  three  centuries  we 
are  at  the  eve  of  a  recommencement.  The  prompt  repres- 
sion of  the  disciples  of  Luther,  and  a  crusade  against  Prot- 
estantism, would  have  spared  Europe  three  centuries  ol 
discord  and  of  catastrophes,  in  which  France  and  civilization 


544  REVIEAY    OF 

may  perish.  It  was  under  the  influence  of  such  reflections, 
that  I  wrote  the  plirase  wliich  has  so  excited  the  virtuous 
indignation  of  the  Red  Journals.  Here  it  is  "  —  (He  writes 
in  this  manner,  because  in  France  every  writer  appends  his 
name  to  his  article).  "  '  For  my  part,  I  avow  frankly,  my 
regret  is,  not  only  that  they  did  not  sooner  burn  John  Huss, 
but  that  they  did  not  equally  burn  Luther ;  and  I  regret 
further,  that  there  had  not  been  at  the  time  some  prince 
sufficiently  pious  and  politic  to  have  made  a  crusade  against 
the  Protestants.*  Well,  this  paragraph  might  have  been 
better  penned :  but  as  I  have  the  happiness  to  belong  to 
those  who  care  little  about  mere  forms  of  expression,  I 
will  not  revoke  it.  I  accept  it  as  it  is,  and  with  a  certain 
satisfaction  at  finding  myself  faithful  to  my  opinions.  That 
which  I  wrote  in  1838  I  still  believe.  Let  the  red  philan- 
thropists print  their  declaration  in  any  sort  of  type  they 
please,  and  as  often  as  they  please.  Let  them  add  their 
commentaries,  and  place  all  to  my  account.  The  day  that 
I  cancel  it,  they  will  be  justified  in  holding  the  opinion  of 
me  which  I  hold  of  them.  (Signed),  Louis  Venillot."  So 
that  you  have  here  modern  documents,  all  preaching  and 
vindicating  the  persecution  pursued  in  the  early  ages.  Dr. 
Newman's  allegation  that  the  Popes  set  up  a  tribunal  of 
persecution,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  they  had  the 
power,  but  never  used  it  or  meant  to  use  it,  is  wonderfully 
innocent  logic. 

Now,  the  last  passage  that  I  will  treat  of  in  the  evening 
of  this  day,  is  that  relating  to  the  relics  and  miracles  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  real  or  assumed,  and  concerning  which 
Dr.  Newman  has  some  decided  notions.  In  closing  my 
morning's  notes  upon  his  Lectures,  I  must  say,  that  the 
popular  prejudices  quoted  by  him  against  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  are  scripturally  true ;  they  are  historical  facts ; 
and  I  am  sure  that  those  of  you  who  have  read  his  Lectures, 
will  not   be  driven  from  the  propositions  which  you  have 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  545 

cherished  year  after  year,  by  the  mere  badinage^  and  silly 
and  sarcastic  remarks  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Newman.  He 
knows  that  his  church  is  a  desperate  concern,  that  can  only 
be  maintained  by  desperate  means.  And  it  is  to  my  mind 
one  of  the  most  humiliating  evidences  of  the  deteriorating 
effect  of  the  Roman  heresy,  that  those  clergymen  who  have 
gone  over  to  it  recently,  are  so  unscrupulous,  as  to  what  is 
true  and  what  is  not,  in  the  statements  that  they  bring 
against  the  Protestant  Church  at  large.  Dr.  Newman 
indulges  in  charges,  that  he  must  have  known  are  not  facts : 
he  has  brought  accusations  against  us,  which  he  must  have 
known  are  repudiated  by  us ;  and  he  tries  to  screen  the 
worst  characteristics  of  his  church,  by  placing  them  in  the 
list  of  popular  Protestant  prejudices,  stating  that,  as  such, 
they  ought  to  be  treated  with  indifference  wherever  they 
appear. 

And  let  us  learn  another  lesson.  The  Church  of  Rome, 
however  screened  by  Dr.  Newman,  is  in  the  present  day 
avowing  her  ruling  sentiments  with  an  energy,  a  manliness, 
and  an  honesty  unprecedented  in  her  past  history.  She  is 
now  ready  to  allow,  in  spite  of  Dr.  Newman's  apologetic 
appeals,  that  she  is  prepared  to  persecute,  in  order  to  spread 
her  sentiments.  The  history  of  England  she  has  just  issued, 
published  by  Burns  and  Lambert,  instils  these  principles  in 
the  minds  of  the  rising  generation.  And  you  may  depend 
upon  it,  we  are  coming  into  a  crisis  so  solemn  and  so  momen- 
tous in  its  issues,  that  it  becomes  every  man  and  woman  in  this 
assembly  to  prepare  themselves  with  a  thorough,  heartfelt 
grasp  of  what  living,  evangelical,  Protestant  Christianity  is  ; 
and  with  a  correct  and  well  founded  apprehension  of  the 
errors  and  superstitions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  I 
have  no  fear  for  the  ultimate  issue :  I  am  satisfied  that  truth 
will  obtain  the  supremacy;  that  with  spiritual  weapons 
alone  Romanism  must  go  down.  I  think  that  the  hour  of  her 
doom  is  at  our  doors.  Next  year  may  very  probably  show 
46* 


546  REVIEW    OF 

how  precarious  is  the  footing  she  now  possesses ;  and  lights, 
not  far  distant,  now  coming  into  the  horizon,  will  reveal 
which  is  truth,  and  which,  by  being  truth,  has  immunity  and 
immortality,  and  how  truly  the  patroness  and  the  exponent 
of  a  lie  is  doomed  to  everlasting  destruction  from  the  pres- 
ence of  God.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  every  Roman 
Catholic  layman  holds  the  prescriptive  principles  of  these 
writers.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  every  Roman  Catholic 
layman  knows  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  his  church  as 
we  know  them.  But  I  do  say  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
priesthood,  who  are  educated  men,  do  know  these  things ; 
and  I  can  only  explain  the  course  that  Dr.  Newman  has 
taken  by  that  awful  passage,  that  one  ought  not  lightly  to 
apply,  "  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they 
should  believe  a  lie."  In  looking  into  this  great  controversy, 
and  in  conducting  it,  let  us  boldly  avow  our  readiness,  as 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  others  wliD  take  a  public  part 
in  these  matters,  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  us, 
wherever  we  are  placed  in  the  Providence  of  God.  The 
Roman  Catholic  priests  are  coming  forward  in  the  present 
day  with  a  boldness  and  a  heroism  unprecedented,  I  believe, 
for  many  years.  Things  are  coming  rapidly  to  an  issue ; 
the  signs  of  our  struggle  are  multiplying  every  day  ;  and  in 
a  very  short  time  it  will  be  determined  in  the  midst  of  this 
land,  whether  the  old,  fixed,  Protestant  and  Bible  Christian- 
ity, with  freedom  in  our  nation,  purity  in  our  homes,  pros- 
perity in  ©ur  land,  in  its  train,  and  as  its  children :  or  that 
system  which  is  drunk  with  the  blood  of  saints,  which  pol- 
lutes wherever  it  is  present,  and  crushes  wherever  it  cannot 
conciliate,  is  to  reign  and  lord  it  over  the  destinies  of  this 
great  country.  I  believe  that  God's  truth  will  triumph; 
but  I  believe  that,  as  God  works  by  means,  on  us  devolves 
the  responsibility  of  a  diligent,  faithful,  untiring  use  of  the 
means  that  He  has  placed  within  our  power.  Whatever 
those  means  be,  that  we  conscientiously  prefer,  let  us  use 


DK.  Newman's  lectures.  547 

them ;  but  let  no  man  become  a  pervert  to  the  Roman  Cath- 
ohc  superstition,  because  he  has  been  ignorant  of  what  it  is, 
or  whither  it  tends ;  and  we  ask  no  man  to  retain  his  attach- 
ment to  the  Protestant  faith,  except  on  the  grounds  of  en- 
lightened, scriptural,  personal  conviction.  Let  parents  in 
their  homes  teach  Protestant  truth  ;  and  let  me  remind  you 
especially,  mothers  that  are  before  me,  to  do  so.  They 
have  great  power ;  and  I  am  convinced  of  this,  that  if  all 
the  mothers  of  England  be  thoroughly  Christian  and  Prot- 
estant and  do  their  duty  to  those  little  Missionary  establish- 
ments, of  which  they  are  the  presiding  spirits,  although  the 
Pope  were  to  send  cartloads  of  Cardinal  Wisemans  to  our 
shores,  they  would  be  for  ever  powerless.  A  mother's  influ- 
ence in  her  house  is  mighty.  And  the  reason  is  just  tliis :  — 
A  father  teaches,  but  a  mother  instils.  A  mother's  influence, 
when  sanctified,  like  a  delicate,  aromatic  perfume,  penetrates 
the  infant  heart,  where  a  father's  coarse  and  rough  influence 
lias  no  access  at  all.  On  the  mothers,  therefore,  in  Tun- 
bridge  Wells,  and  everywhere  throughout  England,  devolves 
a  responsibility  which  no  language  of  mine  can  express,  and 
which  no  arithmetic  can  possibly  exaggerate.  And  cleave, 
my  dear  friends,  wherever  you  are,  to  evangelical  preaching, 
which  is  that  of  truth.  Love  the  form  you  belong  to,  prefer 
the  church  of  which  you  are  the  members ;  but  prefer  above 
the  church,  above  the  minister,  and  above  all  the  accompani- 
ments of  worship,  living,  vital,  evangelical,  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity. Give  me  a  man  with  a  weak  mind,  who  proclaims 
the  glorious  gospel,  and  give  me  a  man  with  a  master  mind, 
who  does  not  preach  it,  and  I  will  go  to  hear  the  weak 
mind,  because  he  preaches  it,  in  preference  to  the  strong 
mind,  because  he  does  not  preach  it.  And  we  are  coming 
into  a  day,  when  it  will  be  uttered  from  the  skies,  and  it 
must  be  echoed  from  the  earth,  more  and  more  distinctly, 
*'  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him :  if  Baal  be  God,  follow 
him."     Your  Tractarianisms  and  Puseyisms,  and  all  such 


548  REVIEW    OF 

isms,  are  sham  and  evasive  shifts  to  get  rid  of  a  solemn 
responsibility.  I  am  quite  sure,  if  you  were  to  see  the 
genuine  Church  of  Rome,  you  would  recognize  a  splendid 
exterior  vision,  vile  and  hateful  as  it  is  beneath ;  but  Pusey- 
ism  is  contemptible,  because  it  is  without  outward  beauty, 
and  is  replete  with  inward  unscriptural,  unprotestant  de- 
lusions. Let  us,  then,  ally  ourselves  to  all  that  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  if  we  be  found  faithful,  even  though 
it  should  be  the  faithful  few,  ours  will  be  that  happy  destiny 
that  awaits  such  in  that  day. 

But  with  all  this,  I  state  it  as  encouragement  I  gather 
from  facts  and  prophecy  together,  that  this  land  of  ours  is 
reserved  yet,  I  believe,  for  a  splendid  destiny.  I  see  in  the 
past  history  of  it,  notwithstanding  its  faihngs  and  its  sins, 
such  tokens  of  the  providential  interposition  of  God,  that  I 
am  sure  it  is  not  God's  purpose  to  give  up  this  great  coun- 
try to  sink,  when  Babylon,  like  a  mill-stone,  shall  perisli  in 
the  depths  of  the  sea.  We  shall  be  punished,  —  nay,  I  will 
not  say  punished,  —  we  shall  be  chastened :  a  judge  pun- 
ishes a  criminal ;  a  father  chastens  his  child.  We  shall  be 
chastened,  too,  in  the  direction  in  which  we  have  sinned. 
When  a  nation  sins,  God  makes  a  scourge  out  of  its  sins  to 
chasten  it  with.  We  have  sinned  from  1829  up  to  now. 
You  may  not,  perhaps,  agree  with  me ;  but  I  say,  since  that 
period,  explain  it  as  you  like,  and  attribute  it  to  the  course 
you  like,  we  have  sinned  in  reference  to  Romanism ;  and 
we  have  crowned  our  sins  by  endowing,  at  a  vast  national 
annual  expense,  the  College  of  Maynooth.  I  say,  we  have 
sinned  in  these  things ;  and  the  right  way  is,  to  begin  to  re- 
pent first,  and  to  abjure  what  we  see  to  be  sin.  And  do  not 
speak  as  if  you  would  sweep  away,  at  one  fell  swoop,  all 
the  bad  acts  of  past  years,  but  just  unwind.  Begin  at  the 
last  national  sin,  unwind  it,  and  we  shall  afterwards  con- 
sider whether  we  ought  to  go  further  or  not.  But  we  have 
sinned  in  these  respects ;  and  in  these  respects,  I  believe, 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  .549 

God  will  chasten  us :  but  I  do  not  believe  that  God  will 
give  up  our  land.  "Why  has  it  been  preserved  during  the 
last  few  years  ?  Why  has  it  been  like  a  central  peaceful 
column,  around  which  exiles  fleeing  from  other  nations  have 
felt  that  they  could  cluster  and  cling  ?  Why  has  it  been  the 
wide  spreading  tree,  under  the  shadow  of  which  they  have 
found  a  shelter  and  a  defence,  when  the  rest  of  the  nations 
of  Europe  have  been  uprooted  and  shaken  by  the  storm? 
Why  is  it  that  this  great  land  of  ours  has  been  so  success- 
ful, fiscally,  politically,  nationally,  religiously,  in  extending 
its  missions,  adding  to  their  ftinds,  apparently  rising  re- 
freshed from  temporary  disasters,  rather  than  put  down? 
Why  have  our  ships  been  beating  white  the  waves  of  every 
sea,  our  anchors  dropped  upon  every  strand,  and  our  guns 
assuring  the  oppressed  that  he  shall  find  in  us  an  assistance 
and  a  protector  ?  It  is  because  the  light  of  God's  truth  has 
shone  in  the  midst  of  us ;  it  is  because  England's  anchor- 
age ground  has  been  the  Bible ;  and  so  long  as  that  Divine 
Book  stands  like  a  light-house  on  the  capital  of  our  national 
column,  so  long  will  England  stand.  Shut  that  book,  and 
you  will  not  remain  long  free :  keep  it  open,  and  no  foot,  be 
it  that  of  priest,  or  king,  or  tyrant,  shall  be  able  to  press 
upon  your  neck  ;  and  so  long  as  that  light  remains,  so  long 
we  shall  not  only  be  free  ourselves,  but  a  pattern  and  an 
example  to  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  great  waves  may 
beat  against  that  glorious  light-house ;  the  great  winds  may 
rush  on  it ;  and  cardinals,  and  popes,  and  monks,  like  the 
sea-gulls,  envying  its  light,  and  attracted  by  its  splendor, 
and  hoping  to  quench  it,  may  fly  at  it ;  but  it  will  only  be  to 
dash  themselves  against  it,  and  lie  dead  at  its  base.  It  will 
stand  the  light  of  England,  and  the  light  of  nations.  And, 
having  received  from  our  forefathers  so  glorious  a  deposit, 
by  God's  grace,  in  spite  of  Cardinal  Wiseman  and  the  Pope 
of  Rome,  we  will  keep  it,  and  hand  it  down  to  our  children: 
so  that,  when  they  receive  it,  and  stand  upon  the  green  sod 


OOO  REVIEW    OF 

that  covers  our  ashes,  they  shall  be  constrained  to  say,  Our 
fathers,  if  they  did  not  increase,  did  not  at  least  diminish  the 
glorious  heritage  which  they  received. 


LECTURE    II. 

In  those  remarks  I  had  the  opportunity  of  submitting 
to  you  in  the  former  part  of  this  day,  I  showed  that  Dr. 
Newman,  the  most  distinguished  advocate  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  the  age  in  which  we  live,  acquainted  in  his 
earlier  days  with  the  principles  of  a  purer  church,  but  now 
inveterately  attached  to  the  very  worst  superstitions  of  the 
church  of  his  adoption,  has  written  a  work  which  he  calls, 
"  Lectures  on  the  Present  Position  of  Catholics  in  England: 
addressed  to  the  Brothers  of  the  Oratory;"  and  another 
volume,  previously  written,  equally  large,  and  in  some 
respects  not  less  eloquent,  called  "  Discourses  to  Mixed 
Congregations.  By  John  Henry  Newman,  D.  D.,  Priest 
of  the  Congregation  of  St.  Philip  Neri."  I  showed  that 
he  begins  by  breaking  an  Act  of  Parliament,  and  continues 
and  ends  by  omitting  the  Scriptures  from  his  investigation 
altogether.  It  is  most  remarkable,  that  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  book  to  its  close,  he  scarcely  quotes  a  text. 
He  appeals  to  what  he  calls  the  reason ;  he  speaks  of  pre- 
judices, and  endeavors  to  disabuse  us  of  our  misconceptions, 
as  he  calls  them,  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith ;  but  he 
scarcely  decides  a  single  difficulty  by  an  appeal  to  Scrip- 
ture, or  quotes  a  single  passage  to  determine  the  ccnti'o- 
versy  one  way  or  the  other. 

Before  proceeding,  however,  to  analyze  at  still  greater 
length  the  statements  in  this  extraordinary  farrago,  —  this 
mixture  of  the  beautiful  and  the  bad,  the  sublime  and  tho 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  551 

nonsensical,  the  logical  and  the  illogical,  more  than  ever  it 
was  ray  lot  to  peruse  before,  —  I  should  like  to  disabuse 
your  minds  of  possible,  and  frequently  repeated  misconcep- 
tions as  to  the  course  which  we  pursue,  and  the  ends  which 
we  have  now  in  view. 

First,  let  me  again  repeat,  that  the  severity  with  which 
we  brand  the  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  is  the  measure 
of  the  unaffected  love  which  we  feel  to  those  who  are  the 
victims  of  them.  It  is  quite  possible  to  love  the  sinner, 
and  to  detest  the  sin  in  the  ratio  of  the  love  that  we  bear 
him.  Our  blessed  Master  so  loved  the  sinner,  that  he 
came  from  the  highest  height  of  glory  to  deliver  him ;  and 
he  so  detested  the  sin,  that  he  shed  his  most  precious 
blood  that  its  guilt  might  be  for  ever  washed  away.  And 
just  in  proportion  as  we  imitate  the  spirit  of  our  blessed 
Master,  are  we  qualified  to  enter  into  a  discussion,  which 
sometimes  irritates,  which  occasionally  has  made  men  speak 
in  exaggerated  language,  and  now  and  then  has  made  us 
forget  our  love  to  man  in  our  antipathy  to  a  system  which 
has  been  fatal  to  our  country's  history  in  the  past,  and  is 
ruinous  to  souls  wherever  it  is  embraced.  Now,  my  posi- 
tion is  this :  that  a  Roman  Catholic  error  is  so  great  a  mis- 
fortune, that  the  very  sincerity  with  which  a  man  cleaves  to 
it  is  a  reason  why  I  should  respect  him  as  a  man,  but  no 
reason  why  I  should  spare  the  error  that  ruins  his  soul, 
and  that  is  separating  us  into  factions  among  our  fellow- 
countrymen. 

And,  in  the  next  place,  we  use  spiritual  weapons  alone. 
We  are  quite  satisfied  that  the  gospel  needs  neither  the 
bribe  of  the  treasury  to  make  men  accept  it,  nor  the 
bayonet  of  the  army  to  support  and  to  perpetuate  it.  If 
the  fagots  are  to  be  kindled,  let  them  be  so  by  the  enemies, 
not  by  the  friends  of  the  gospel.  If  the  sword  is  to 
be  unsheathed,  let  it  be  by  the  advocates  of  Rome,  not 
the   advocates  of  a  pure  and  scriptural  rehgion.      "The 


552  REVIEW    OF 

weapons  of  our  warfare,"  says  the  apostle,  "are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty ; "  and  he  implies  in  that  sentiment, 
that  just  because  they  are  not  carnal,  therefore  they  are 
mighty. 

And,  in  the  next  place,  while  we  deal  w^ith  a  Roman 
Catholic,  it  is  not  our  simple  idea  to  disabuse  his  mind  of 
the  errors  that  he  holds.  A  heart  emptied  of  all  error  is 
not  a  step  nearer  heaven  than  a  heart  filled  with  all  error. 
We  are  sanctified,  not  by  a  negation,  but  through  the 
truth  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  if,  therefore,  I  should 
induce  a  man  to  cease  to  be  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  should, 
under  God,  be  blessed  to  make  him  nothing  more,  it 
would  be  but  a  poor  triumph :  the  room,  swept  and  gar- 
nished, would  most  likely  tempt  seven  other  spirits  worse 
than  the  first  to  enter  in ;  and  so,  the  last  state  of  that 
man  would  be  worse  than  the  first.  No;  we  think  we 
take  a  better  plan,  and  that  is,  to  dislodge  the  error  that  is 
cherished  by  the  corresponding  truth  that  is  fitted  to  neu- 
tralize it,  and  to  lead  the  Roman  Cathohc  to  abjure  the 
worse  way,  by  showing  him  in  our  creed,  in  our  expressions, 
in  our  life,  a  more  excellent  way.  I  would  not  break  the 
canonized  urn  filled  with  waters  from  the  Tiber,  unless  I 
could  point  him  out  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  from 
which  he  may  drink,  without  money  and  without  price.  I 
would  not  take  from  him  the  twinkling  taper  light,  unless  I 
could  point  him  out  the  big  bright  Sun,  under  whose  wings 
there  is  healing,  and  in  whose  presence  there  is  the  light  of 
life.  I  will  not  be  satisfied,  therefore,  with  making  a  Roman 
Catholic  cease  to  be  so,  until,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  are 
instrumental  in  turning  him  from  darkness  unto  light,  from 
the  knowledge  and  power  of  Satan  unto  the  knowledge  and 
kingdom  of  God,  and  his  own  dear  Son. 

Now,  in  dealing  with  this  controversy,  let  me  notice,  as 
another  preliminary  and  important  remark,  that  some  excel- 
lent Protestants,  some,  I  believe,  in  this  place,  say,  and  say 


DR.   NEWMAN'S   LECTURES.  553 

very  plausibly,  "  What  business  have  you  to  meddle  with 
another  man's  creed  ?  it  is  his  own  business,  and  not  yours." 
So  far  it  seems  very  good  sense ;  but  when  you  come  to 
look  at  it  in  the  light  of  Scripture,  it  is  very  bad  divinity. 
Suppose  our  Lord  had  let  us  alone  eighteen  centuries  ago : 
suppose  Paul  had  let  the  Athenians  alone,  and  not  told  them 
of  their  superstitions,  and  of  the  God  that  they  ignorantly 
worshipped.  Suppose  that  the  first  missionaries  had  said 
of  us,  "  Let  those  Saxons  alone ;  what  right  have  we  to 
meddle  with  their  creed  ?  "  Then,  we  should  have  been  in 
a  very  different  state  to  what  we  are  now.  My  own  creed 
is  my  business,  and  my  brother's  creed  is  my  business ;  and 
if  I  have  a  right  heart,  I  shall  never  suffer  sin  in  my 
brother's  life  without  trying  to  rebuke  it,  nor  an  error  in  my 
brother's  intellect  without  trying  to  dislodge  it  It  seems  to 
me  that  this  spirit  I  am  now  animadverting  upon  partakes 
very  much  of  that  of  Cain,  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  " 
Every  man  has  an  interest  in  the  well-being  of  his  neigh- 
bor ;  and  in  proportion  as  a  man  becomes  Christian,  he  can- 
not rest,  under  an  impulse  stronger  than  time,  until  the 
whole  mass  that  is  around  him  is  leavened  with  the  light  and 
freedom  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  all  society  reflects  the 
blessings  and  the  happiness  which  it  is  his  own  unmerited 
privilege  to  enjoy. 

Again,  in  dealing  with  the  Roman  Catholic  system,  it 
may  be  said,  "  Why  not  let  them  take  their  own  way  to 
heaven  ? "  or,  according  to  what  is  called  in  modern  times 
the  very  liberal  Christian,  "  Let  the  Roman  Catholics  take 
their  way ;  let  the  Socinians  take  their  way ;  let  Protes- 
tants take  their  way :  we  shall  all  land  in  the  right  place, 
but  by  different  roads,  at  the  last."  There  is  a  great  fallacy 
lurking  beneath  such  a  statement  as  this.  If  there  be  dif- 
ferent roads  to  heaven,  and  if  everybody  be  in  one  of  these, 
then  I  do  not  see  that  we  ought  to  meddle  with  any  man's 
religion ;  but  is  the  geography  of  heaven  exactly  the 
47 


554  REVIEW    OF 

reflection  of  the  geography  of  time  ?  If  I  wish  to  go  to 
London  to-morrow  from  Tunbridge  Wells,  I  may  go  by 
express,  or  by  the  first,  second,  or  third  class,  or  by  a  goods 
train.  I  may  go  on  horseback,  by  coach,  or  on  foot,  or  I 
might  find  a  canal  by  which  I  might  go.  And  therefore,  if 
I  said,  "  I  am  going  to  London  to-morrow,"  my  excellent 
friend,  Mr.  Franklyn,  might  say,  "  I  think  you  must  go  by 
this  way,  or  that  way  ; "  or  he  might  say,  "  Why  not  let  Dr. 
Gumming  take  his  own  way,  and,  being  a  Scotchman,  he  is 
sure  to  take  the  cheapest  route  to  London."  Now,  this 
seems  very  plausible,  when  applied  to  the  affairs  of  this 
world :  but  is  it  the  same  in  reference  to  those  of  a  higher 
world  ?  Not  at  all,  my  friends.  There  are  not  many  ways 
to  heaven  ;  there  is  but  one,  and  it  is  important  that  that 
one  should  be  known.  And  what  is  it?  It  is  not  true  that 
the  way  to  heaven  extends  through  a  church,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  chapel ;  or  through  a  chapel  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  cathedral.  In  short,  we  are  not  saved  by  a  church  at 
all,  nor  can  we  be  guided  to  heaven  by  a  shibboleth  at  all. 
The  way  to  heaven  was  pronounced  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan,  and  is  reverberated  in  ever-multiplying  echoes 
from  the  increasing  pulpits  of  our  land,  —  "I  am  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life.  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me."  And  thus,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only 
way  to  heaven ;  and  the  man  who  pursues  another  way, 
however  near,  however  plausible,  however  picturesque  and 
beautiful,  is  in  a  way  that  will  not  lead  to  heaven,  because 
there  is  but  one,  and  that  one,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
only  name  given  among  men,  whereby  we  can  be  saved.  It 
is  thus,  then,  that  I  meet  the  difficulty,  that  there  are  many 
ways  to  heaven,  and  that  every  man  should  take  his  own, 
and  that  the  Roman  Catholic  should  take  his. 

But  then,  others  will  say,  "  Is  it  not  true  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  holds  the  great  truths  that  we  hold  ? " 
And  it  may  be  argued  that,  if  we  be  right,  the  Roman 


DK.  Newman's  lectures.  555 

Catholic  Church  cannot  be  wrong ;  because,  for  instance, 
she  holds  the  Nicene  Creed,  a  very  beautiful  compendium 
of  Scriptural  Christianity;  but  she  adds  to  that  Nicene 
Creed  other  twelve  articles,  which  constitute  the  distinctive 
peculiarities  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  This  is  so 
marked,  that,  if  a  Roman  Catholic  were  to  clip  his  creed  in 
twain,  the  first  half  would  be  the  exponent  of  Protestant 
Christianity,  and  the  other  half  of  pure  and  unmixed  Roman 
Catholic  superstition.  Well,  you  say,  if  a  Roman  Catholic 
hold  what  we  hold,  and  olfly  a  little  more,  —  if  we  be  saved, 
you  argue,  he  cannot  be  in  danger.  Now,  this  might  be 
true,  if  the  little  more  that  he  held  were  perfectly  innocuoug; 
but  the  little  more  that  he  holds  is  not  only  something  addi- 
tional to  the  truth,  but  it  is  something  in  itself  intensely  sub- 
versive of  the  truth.  And  here  is  the  mystery.  If  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  were  the  denial  of  all  truth,  then  it 
would  be  simply  infidelity ;  but  it  is  the  "  mystery  of 
iniquity,"  and  therefore  it  admits  all  the  truths  that  we 
admit,  but  then  it  applies  the  correlative  errors  that  neutral- 
ize every  truth,  subvert  every  precious  announcement,  and 
under  the  appearance  of  marching  to  immortality  and  glory, 
it  leads  you  directly  to  distance  and  alienation  from  God. 
So  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  not  only  holds  a  little 
more,  but  it  holds  that  little  more  of  the  most  pernicious 
description ;  —  although,  I  might  add,  it  is  possible  to  be- 
lieve too  much,  as  well  as  to  believe  too  little.  We  find  in 
this  world,  that  if  you  add  up  your  ledger  in  this  manner, 
two  and  two  make  five,  you  will  find  next  Ciiristmas  that 
you  are  just  as  much  wrong  as  if  you  had  added  it  up  in 
this  manner,  two  and  two  make  three.  And  you  will  find 
that,  if  a  person  eats  too  much,  he  will  do  himself  as  much 
physical  damage  as  by  eating  too  little.  And  it  may  be  true 
in  religious  matters,  that  it  is  just  as  dangerous  to  believe 
too  much,  as  too  little.  But  when  that  too  much  is  adding 
to  what  is  sufficient  that  which  is  deleterious,  then  it  may 


556  REVIEW    OF 

destroy  the  good  that  is  in  it.  Thus,  if  we  add  to  bread, 
not  more  bread,  but  arsenic,  and  to  the  water  we  are  drink- 
ing, not  more  water,  but  prussic  acid,  then  all  the  virtue  of 
the  bread  is  gone,  all  the  preciousness  of  the  water  is  neu- 
tralized ;  and  although  these  may  seem  to  be  bread  and 
water,  because  those  elements  are  the  largest,  still  they  are 
tainted  with  deleterious  poison,  which  poisons  the  unliapp}' 
man  who  wilfully  or  ignorantly  accepts  them.  It  is  thus, 
then,  that  it  is  no  defence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  to 
say,  it  is  only  the  belief  of  a  little %ore  :  it  is  the  acceptance 
of  a  little  more  of  a  dangerous  description. 

But  then,  you  must  admit  that  there  are  many  good 
people  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  I  believe  that  there  are 
saints  in  the  midst  of  the  Roman  Catholic  superstition,  who  at 
this  moment  are  the  subjects  of  the  grace  of  God,  but  not  in 
consequence  of  that  system  in  which  they  are,  but  rather  in 
spite  of  it.  And  it  would  be  strange  if  it  were  not  so.  On 
the  bleakest  crags  of  the  Alps  there  are  some  flowers  that 
the  frosts  have  not  nipped,  and  that  the  storms  have  not 
blasted.  In  the  wildest  deserts  of  Africa  and  Asia  there  is 
an  oasis  here  and  there,  to  show  that  God  has  not  utterly 
forsaken  them.  And  in  the  Church  of  Rome  there  is  a 
Christian  here  and  a  Christian  there  ;  and  the  whole  of  that 
gigantic  hierarchy  will  stand  until  the  last  Christian  has 
escaped,  like  Lot  from  Sodom ;  and  then  the  judgments  of 
heaven  will  descend  upon  it,  and  utterly  consume  it.  I  do 
not  believe  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  to  be  con- 
verted ;  I  have  no  hope  of  its  conversion  in  the  age  in  which 
we  live.  I  believe  it  will  be  destroyed  only  when  this  dis- 
pensation shall  come  to  its  close.  I  believe  it  will  be  plunged 
into  ruin  by  the  instant  judgments  of  God;  and  that  will 
take  place  when  the  last  of  God's  saints  has  escaped :  then 
it  will  go  down  like  a  mill-stone  into  the  sea,  and  "  the  voice 
of  harpers,  and  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,"  shall  be 
heard  in  it  no  more  at  all.     I  have,  therefore,  no  hope  of 


DK.  Newman's  lectures.  557 

converting  the  Church  of  Rome  at  all ;  but  then  I  have  a 
strong  conviction  that  God  has  a  people  in  the  midst  of  it, 
and  that  now,  at  this  very  moment,  is  the  great  crisis,  when 
there  should  sound  from  every  pulpit,  and  be  heai'd  from 
every  platform,  "  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  par- 
take not  of  her  sins,  and  receive  not  of  her  plagues."  It  is 
thus,  then,  that  God  has  a  people  in  the  Church  of  Rome : 
in  it,  but  not  of  it. 

Others,  again,  have  said,  "  But,  in  attacking  Roman 
Catholicism,  do  you  not  help  the  sceptic,  and  injure  the 
religion  that  you  yourselves  hold  ? "  If  the  Protestant 
religion  were  dependent  upon  a  Roman  Cathohc  foundation, 
it  would  be  true  ;  but  we  deny  that  the  Church  of  Rome  is 
the  foundation  of  the  Protestant  Church.  On  the  contrary, 
we  allege  that  the  Romish  Church  is  grafted  on  the  Prot- 
estant Church ;  we  allege  that  it  is  a  parasite  plant  —  a 
poisonous  parasite  plant  —  that  grows  upon  the  church  of 
Christ,  exhausting  its  vitality,  deforming  its  beauty,  and  con- 
cealing it  from  those  that  would  gaze  upon  it,  and  look  and 
live.  And  therefore  to  meet  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  to 
show  its  errors  and  its  sins,  is  not  to  shake,  still  less  to 
undermine  that  church  which  we  belong  to.  If  the  spider 
has  woven  its  web  amid  the  branches  of  a  precious  apple 
tree,  or  if  the  caterpillar  is  gnawing  its  leaves,  to  remove 
the  spider's  web,  and  to  detach  the  caterpillar,  is  not  to  de- 
stroy the  tree,  but  rather  to  give  it  a  chance  of  development 
it  had  not  before,  and  to  add  to  its  future  fruitfulness  when 
the  harvest  draws  near.  So,  in  defending  the  Protestant 
Church  from  all  unity  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Churchy 
and  in  showing  the  errors  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion, 
we  strengthen,  not  sap,  that  creed  to  which  it  is  our  privi- 
lege, under  God,  to  belong. 

Others,  again,  have  said,  "  We  do  not  like  this  contro- 
versy at  all ; "  and,  as  I  have   heard   persons  say  before 
coming  here,  "  We  do  not  like  discussions  and  debates."     I 
47* 


558  REVIEW    OF 

have  tried  to  show  you,  they  are  neither  uncharitable  nor 
uncalled  for.  But  I  admit  that  controversy  is  not  an  agree- 
able thing ;  but  the  real  question  before  us  in  this  world  is 
not,  whether  we  like  a  thing,  but  whether  it  be  duty ;  nor 
whether  it  is  palatable,  but  whether  it  be  necessary.  What 
are  all  the  Epistles  in  the  New  Testament?  Controversy, 
—  discussions  with  those  who  undermined,  or  subverted  the 
truth.  If  controversy  means  losing  one's  temper,  which  I 
never  did  in  my  life,  or  calling  men  names,  which  I  hope  I 
never  do,  then  it  would  be  an  objectionable  weapon  for  a 
Christian  minister  to  use.  But  if  it  be  to  contend  in  the 
spirit  of  love,  and  to  say  the  bitterest  things  against  error, 
and  the  kindest  things  against  the  victims  of  that  error,  then 
it  is  controversy  by  which  Christianity  was  spread  in  ancient 
days ;  it  was  the  weapon  by  which  Luther,  and  Knox,  and 
Cranmer,  and  Ridley  gained  their  victories ;  it  is  that 
weapon  which  Dr.  Newman  is  wielding  with  consummate 
skill,  and  with  persevering  tactics ;  and  it  is  that  weapon 
with  which  we  must  meet  him,  or  be  mastered  by  him  in 
the  collision  that  is  speedily  approaching.  Certainly,  the 
thing  itself  is  not  pleasant.  No  one  likes  the  storm ;  and  if 
one  had  one's  will,  I  should  wish  that  there  should  be  a 
perpetual  and  a  beautiful  calm.  No  one  likes  whatever  dis- 
turbs the  peace  and  order  of  society ;  but  still,  war  is  often 
a  necessity  and  a  duty.  If  I  had  my  will,  too,  I  would  wish 
that  every  rose-tree  around  Tunbridge  Weils  should  not  have 
a  thorn  upon  it ;  that  there  should  never  come  a  gale  of  wind 
to  disturb  your  common ;  and  I  should  move  that  the  mil- 
lennium should  come  in  with  all  its  beauty  and  bliss  to- 
morrow. But  then,  I  know  that  in  the  arrangements  of 
Heaven,  that  thorn  is  needful  to  protect  that  rose ;  I  know 
that  the  storm  that  does  partial  damage  purifies  and  dis- 
infects the  air  through  which  it  passes  ;  and  I  am  assured, 
from  the  Word  of  God,  that  there  never  can  be  a  millennium 
of  peace  until  there  has  been  first  established  a  millennium 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  550 

of  truth,  from  tlie  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going 
down  of  the  same.  Besides,  I  am  told  that  the  wisdom  that 
is  from  above  is  first  pure,  and  then  peaceable.  And  if  I 
were  asked,  Which  will  you  part  with  —  truth  or  peace  ? 
I  w'ould  say.  Let  me  have  both,  if  I  can ;  but  if  I  must 
part  with  one,  then  let  it  be  peace.  You  say.  Why  ?  Be- 
cause, if  I  let  go  peace,  peace  may  come  again,  for  I  have 
still  truth ;  but  if  I  let  go  truth,  there  can  be  no  peace  again. 
Truth  is  the  stem ;  peace  is  the  blossom.  If  the  blossom 
be  nipped  by  the  winter  winds,  that  stem  will  give  birth  to 
other  and  more  beauteous  blossoms.  But,  if  the  tree  itself 
be  removed  from  the  soil  in  which  it  grows,  then  you  have 
neither  tree,  nor  leaf,  nor  blossom  in  the  summer.  Have 
peace  in  connection  with  truth,  if  you  can  ;  but  support  the 
maintenance  of  God's  truth,  and  God  will  not  leave  you 
without  peace  in  the  world.  And  in  that  controversy  in 
which  we  are  engaged,  it  is  not  the  arena  that  one  loves, 
but  the  golden  apple  that  can  be  picked  up  from  it.  It  is 
not  the  discussion  that  we  like,  but  the  results  that  that  dis- 
cussion leads  to.  And  you  will  find  that  our  best  blessings 
have  been  secured  by  discussion,  and  those  blessings  can 
only  be  maintained  by  being  ever  able  and  ever  ready  to 
defend,  protect,  and  perpetuate  them. 

Now,  having  made  these  remarks,  I  would  turn  your  at- 
tention to  one  or  two  more  of  the  assertions  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Newman,  a  portion  of  which  I  reviewed  in  the  former  part 
of  this  day.  At  page  52,  he  asserts  that  King  Henry  VIII. 
"  began  a  new  religion,"  namely,  the  Protestant :  and  that 
Queen  Elizabeth  "  brought  it  into  shape,"  and  her  successors 
only  "  completed  and  confirmed  it."  Now,  first  of  all,  he 
asserts  that  King  Henry  VIII.  began  our  religion.  This  is 
a  favorite  statement  on  the  part  of  our  Roman  Catholic 
friends  ;  but  the  truth  is,  that  King  Henry  VIH.  was  no 
more  the  cause  of  the  Protestant  religion,  than  Hildebrand 
and  the  woman  Pope  Joan,  were  the  framers  of  the  Roman 


560  REVIEW    OF 

Catholic  religion.  King  Henry  VIII.  lived  a  Papist,  only 
with  inconsistencies  that  few  Papists  showed.  He  burned 
men  one  day  for  believing  in  transubstantiation,  and  he 
burned  them  the  next  day  for  denying  it ;  and  he  closed  hi? 
career  one  of  the  most  devout  Roman  Catholics  that  ever 
attended  mass :  for  he  had  an  altar  erected  at  his  bedside, 
and  received  the  last  offices  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  And 
therefore  it  is  wrong  to  assert  that  Henry  VIII.  was  the 
first  Protestant.  But,  it  is  said,  was  he  not  the  means  of  its 
being  permanently  estabUshed  in  England?  I  say,  God 
uses  means  that  he  does  not  approve  of  to  promote  his  own 
great  purposes.  Cyrus  was  his  battle-axe  of  old,  but  the 
character  of  Cyrus  was  not  such  as  God  approved.  And  it 
might  be  argued,  if  God  would  not  have  used  such  a  man 
as  Henry  VIII.  for  promoting  the  Protestant  religion,  would 
he  have  used  such  a  man  as  Hildebrand,  as  Innocent  III., 
as  John  XXII.,  and  others,  to  uphold  the  Romish  religion  ? 
If  bad  men  helping  a  religion  is  a  proof  that  that  religion  is 
wrong,  then  confessedly  vile  men  maintaining  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  is  demonstration  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion  is  wrong.  God  uses  such  means  as  the  lightning 
and  the  earthquake  to  work  his  ends.  There  was  a  great 
hill  erected  between  mankind  and  the  Saviour,  —  there  was 
a  great  cloud  concealing  his  glory ;  and  whether  God 
employed  the  earthquake,  or  the  lightning,  or  Henry  VIII., 
or  John  Knox,  or  Cranmer,  or  Martin  Luther,  we  bless  him 
that  he  employed  men,  not  because  they  were  the  best,  but 
in  spite  of  their  faults,  and  that  the  great  hill  is  removed, 
and  that  the  cloud  is  dispersed,  and  that  thereby  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  is  revealed,  and  that  in  his  light  we  can  see 
clearly. 

But  he  alleges  that  King  Henry  VIII.  began  a  new 
religion,  implying  by  that  that  Protestantism  is  a  new 
religion.  Now  this  we  do  not  admit.  I  allege  that  tlie 
Protestant  religion  is  the  old  religion,  and  that  the  Roman 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  561 

Catholic  religion  is  the  new  one ;  and  my  evidence  is  this : 
Which  of  the  religions  appeals  to  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures  ?  Alike  Pope  Pius  IX.,  and  Dr.  Newman,  and 
myself,  admit  that  tlie  New  Testament  is  the  first  and  foun- 
dation document.  Why  is  it  that  the  Church  of  Rome  will 
not  peril  the  issue  upon  this  inquiry,  —  Which  church  is 
most  conformed  to  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  ?  If  the 
Church  of  Rome  can  show  that  the  Church  to  whom  St. 
Paul  addressed  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  the  very 
church  of  which  Pio  Nono  is  the  head  now,  then  she  will 
have  shown  that  she  is  the  oldest  and  the  first  church.  But 
if  she  cannot  do  so,  then  she  must  be  satisfied  to  take  her 
place  as  a  secondary  communion,  and  not  as  the  first  church 
founded  by  the  apostles,  and  proclaimed  from  heaven  in  the 
essentials  of  its  constitution  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 
Now,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  if  you  argue  with  Dr.  New- 
man, he  will  come  up  to  the  second  or  third  century,  but 
the  instant  that  you  touch  the  first  century,  he  seems  to 
recoil,  or  to  fly  off  at  a  tangent  into  some  other  quarter. 
IIow  is  this  ?  Because  there  is  a  consciousness  there  that 
he  cannot  prove  the  dogmas  of  the  Church  of  Rome  from 
the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  And  it  seems  to  me  the 
best  way,  not  to  attempt  to  trace  our  genealogy  through 
others  up  to  the  days  of  the  apostles,  but  to  come  at  once  to 
the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  What  is  there  is  truth; 
and  if  all  men  should  deny  that  what  is  condemned  there  is 
false,  that  denial  would  not  alter  the  case ;  and  if  all  men 
should  uphold  and  maintain  that  what  is  commended  there 
is  to  be  condemned,  that  again  would  not  make  the  New 
Testament  less  true.  But  when  he  says,  however,  that  the 
Protestant  religion  is  the  new  one,  and  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  is  the  old  one,  I  do  not  deny  that  the 
Roman  Cathohc  Church  is  an  old  church.  It  is  in  one 
respect  old,  but  it  is  not  old  enough  to  be  true.  We  hold 
that  we  are  the  first  church,  and  that  the  Roman  Catholic 


562  REVIEW    OF 

Church  is  an  old  church.  The  synagogue  of  Satan  is  old, 
but  the  church  of  Christ  was  first.  Sin  is  old,  but  holiness 
was  first.  Satan  is  old,  but  God  was  first.  And  unless  the 
Church  of  Rome  can  prove  that  she  is  the  first  church,  it  is 
in  vain  to  prove  that  she  is  the  same  as  the  Nicene  church, 
or  that  she  can  be  traced  in  her  dogmas  to  the  writers  of  the 
second  century.  But  when  she  asks  the  question,  as  Dr. 
Newman  does  by  implication  here.  Where,  then,  was  your 
church  previous  to  Martin  Luther,  or,  as  he  calls  it,  Henry 
VIII.  ?  I  answer,  first  of  all.  The  Church  of  Rome  ought 
to  be  ashamed  to  ask  the  question ;  for  she  knows  where  the 
professors  of  the  truth  were,  and  how  they  were  treated,  when 
she  had  absolute  and  unquestioned  jurisdiction  over  the  great 
mass  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  If  she  means  by  that  ques- 
tion. Where  was  our  religion  before  the  days  of  Martin  Lu- 
ther ?  I  reply,  where  it  is  now,  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa* 
ments.  If  she  asks,  however.  Where  was  our  church,  as  a 
church  so  called,  prior  to  the  Reformation  ?  arguing  that  be- 
cause the  name  Protestant  is  new,  the  thing — Protestantism 
—  must  be  new  also,  I  reply.  If  the  noveltj^  of  a  name  is  proof 
of  the  novelty  of  the  thing,  then  transubstantiation  cannot  be 
older  than  the  ninth  century,  because  the  name  "  transub- 
stantiation "  was  not  known  till  the  ninth  century ;  and  as 
the  Church  of  Rome  asserts  that  the  novelty  of  a  name  is 
the  evidence  of  the  novelty  of  the  thing,  then  transubstan- 
tiation cannot  be  primitive  ;  it  was  a  novelty  of  the  ninth 
century,  and  is  therefore  not  an  apostolic  doctrine.  But 
this  she  will  not  allow,  and  consequently,  she  must  admit 
that  the  novelty  of  a  name  is  not  necessarily  a  proof  of  the 
novelty  of  a  thing,  and  that  therefore,  although  the  name 
"  Protestant"  is  not  older  than  the  days  of  Luther,  the  thing 
of  which  it  is  the  exponent  may  be  as  old  as  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  But  if  she  argue  in  this  way.  Where  were  the 
professors  of  Protestantism  before  Martin  Luther  ?  I 
answer,  It  is  remarkable  that  Reinerus,  a  Romanist,  admits, 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  563 

when  investigating  the  claims  of  the  Waldenses,  that  they 
had  existed  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  maintaining  the 
great  doctrines  of  Protestant  Christianity  down  to  the 
eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thirteenth  centuries ;  and  you  will 
find  that  in  the  middle  ages  they  formed  a  bright  silver 
thread  running  from  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and  so  were 
then  the  true  church.  In  the  middle  ages  the  Church  of 
Rome  was  the  great  incorporate  apostasy,  and  the  Church 
of  Christ  was  a  handful  of  faithful  men  —  a  faithful  few, 
whose  symbol,  like  the  symbol  of  the  Waldenses,  Lux 
lucet  in  tenebris  —  the  light  shines  in  darkness  —  was  its 
great  standing  feature  and  memorial  from  year  to  year. 
And  if  the  Church  of  Rome  asks.  Where  were  we,  then, 
prior  to  the  days  of  Martin  Luther  ?  I  answer,  As  a  creed, 
we  were  in  the  Bible ;  as  a  name,  our  name  was  not  yet 
introduced ;  as  professors  of  the  truth,  we  were  in  bondage 
to  the  Church  of  Rome  :  as  the  Jews  were  in  Babylon,  so 
the  Protestants  were  before  the  Reformation.  And  it  seems 
to  me  a  strange  thing  in  Roman  Catholics  to  ask,  where  we 
were,  when  she  has  only  to  have  recourse  to  the  annals  of 
the  Inquisition  to  find  the  names  of  our  forefathers  in  the 
list  of  those  whom  she  has  persecuted.  I  do  not  know  if 
you  ever  read,  in  the  interesting  writings  of  Lord  Lindsay 
on  Egypt,  that  once,  on  visiting  one  of  the  Pyramids,  he 
discovered  a  tuberous  root  in  the  hands  of  a  mummy.  He 
was  anxious  to  know  whether  vegetable  vitality  could  exist 
for  the  time  (which  must  have  been  at  least  two  thousand 
years)  that  it  had  been  in  that  situation  ;  and  in  order  to 
ascertain  this,  he  took  the  root  out  of  the  mummy's  hand, 
and  exposed  it  to  the  rain  drops  and  the  influences  of  nature, 
in  his  garden,  and  it  grew  up  into  a  beautiful  dahlia.  Now, 
if  Roman  Catholics  ask,  where  Protestantism  was  before 
the  Reformation,  I  answer.  It  was  in  the  cold  and  iron  grasp 
of  the  Papacy ;  and  all  that  Martin  Luther  did  was  to  un- 
clench that  iron  grasp,  to  extract  the  precious  deposit,  and 


564  REVIEW    OF 

to  plant  it  in  the  lands  of  Germany,  and  England,  and 
Scotland,  and,  I  now  add,  of  Ireland,  and  to  leave  it  to  the 
influence  of  a  better  Sun,  and  to  the  dews  of  that  grace  that 
is  never  exhausted ;  and  it  is  springing  up  in  all  these  lands 
into  overshadowing  branches  of  the  church  universal,  that 
bear  the  truths,  which  are  alike  the  glory,  the  strength,  and 
the  perpetuity  of  our  own  beloved  and  father-land.  So 
much,  then,  for  Dr.  Newman's  statement  that  our  religion  is 
a  new  religion,  and  that  his  alone  is  the  old  one. 

The  next  thing  to  which  I  will  refer  occurs  at  page  63, 
where  he  makes  the  very  strange  allegation,  that  such  is  the 
unhappy  state  of  Roman  Catholics  in  this  country,  no  one 
can  be  one  "  without  apologizing  for  it."  Now  I  do  not 
know  that  it  is  thought  to  be  a  shame  to  be  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic. It  is  certainly  a  misfortune ;  but  I  do  not  know  that 
any  man  in  this  country  is  proscribed  because  he  is  a  Ro- 
man Catholic.  Do  you  ask  your  baker,  before  you  deal 
with  him,  "  Are  you  a  Roman  Catholic  ? "  Do  you  ask 
your  grocer,  before  you  deal  with  him,  "  Are  you  a  Roman 
Catholic  ?  "  Are  Romish  Catholics  excluded  from  our  po- 
lice ?  Are  they  not  soldiers  in  our  army  ?  Are  they  not 
in  the  House  of  Commons  ?  and  I  am  sure  you  cannot  mis- 
take their  presence  there,  especially  under  their  recent  form 
of  "  the  Pope's  Brass  Band."  Are  they  not  found  in  every 
place  ?  and  is  it  thought  in  this  country  any  shame  to  be  a 
Roman  Catholic?  We  know  it  is  not;  and  therefore  it 
seems  to  me  a  severe  and  an  unwarranted  reflection  for  Dr. 
Newman  to  make,  when  he  asserts  that  no  one  can  be  a 
Roman  Catholic  without  apologizing  for  it.  But  we  may 
turn  round,  and  say  with  far  greater  truth.  Can  I  be  a  Prot- 
estant in  Rome  without  suffering  for  it  ?  Can  I  be  a  Prot- 
estant in  Florence  without  suffering  for  it  ?  What  is  the 
history  of  poor  Count  Guicciardini  ?  I  have  here  an  extract 
from  the  records  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
dated  August,  1851,  in  which   the  treatment   that   Count 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  565 

Guicciardini  has  met  with  from  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Florence,  is  alluded  to,  and  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
Hon.  and  Rev.  Samuel  Waldegrave,  in  a  speech  delivered 
at  Bedford,  June  9,  1851,  said:  "When  at  Florence,  I 
had  the  privilege  of  visiting  Count  Guicciardini.  He  was 
in  prison.  He  is  a  man  of  rank,  a  man  of  property,  a 
man  of  blameless  reputation.  He  is  a  loyal  subject  He 
has  carefully  abstained  from  all  interference  in  politics. 
While  waiting  with  the  friend  who  accompanied  me  to  see 
him,  I  asked  the  gaoler  whether  he  was  a  man  free  from  all 
suspicion  on  political  grounds.  His  answer  was,  *  Yes  ;  he  is 
parfaitement pure*  Yet  was  he  now  a  prisoner  in  the  com- 
mon prison.  What  was  his  fault?  He  had  been  found 
sitting  round  a  small  table,  with  six  others,  reading  the 
Bible  ;  that  was  his  one,  his  only  crime ;  '*  and  it  appears  that 
only  by  subsequent  interference  on  the  part  of  the  British 
authority  was  his  punishment  relaxed.  So  true  is  it,  as 
Lord  Palmerston  remarked  in  a  most  able  speech  the  other 
day  at  Tiverton,  that  in  Rome,  and  Tuscany,  and  Florence, 
to  be  a  Protestant  is  to  be  a  criminal ;  and  to  have  a  Bible 
is  the  evidence  that  you  are  a  Protestant,  and  consequently 
a  criminal.  If,  then.  Dr.  Newman  says  that  no  man  can  be 
a  Roman  Catholic  in  this  country  without  apologizing  for  it, 
we  can  reply,  with  far  greater  truth,  that  no  man  can  be  a 
Protestant  in  his  favorite  lands  without  suffering  for  it  in 
the  most  painful  manner. 

Again,  I  turn  to  page  122,  and  I  find  there  the  following 
statement :  "  Protestants  are  obliged  to  cut  their  ninth 
commandment  out  of  their  Decalogue.  *  Thou  shalt  not 
bear  false  witness  against  thy  neighbor,'  must  go,  must  dis- 
appear ;  their  position  requires  the  sacrifice."  Now,  whether 
Dr.  Newman  says  this  in  joke,  as  some  of  his  saints  said 
equally  merry  things,  or  whether  he  means  it  as  a  real  and 
grave  charge  against  our  Protestant  Christianity,  I  do  not 
know.  I  have  looked  into  our  Scotch  Catechisms,  and  I 
48 


566  REVIEW   OP 

find  the  ninth  cemmandment  there ;  and  one  cannot  enter 
an  English  church  witliout  finding  it  written  conspicuously 
upon  the  walls,  thus  giving  unequivocal  evidence  that  the 
Church  of  England  has  not  expunged  it  from  the  Deca- 
logue. But  Dr.  Newman  says  we  have  expunged  it ;  he 
must  have  made  a  mistake,  for  the  fact  is,  that  we  retain  the 
ninth,  and  he  has  expunged  the  second.  In  the  Catechisms 
of  his  church  —  at  least,  those  upon  the  table  dated  1845  — 
the  second  commandment,  as  we  count,  is  expunged,  and  the 
fourth  very  much  modified.  Here  is  a  Catechism  by  the 
most  Rev.  Dr.  Reilly,  published  at  Dublin  in  the  year  1845  ; 
I  open  it  at  page  twenty,  and  find  the  following :  "  Q. 
How  many  commandments  hath  God  given  us?  A.  Ten. 
—  Say  them.  A.  I.  I  am  the  Lord  tliy  God ;  thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  but  me.  II.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the 
name  of  God  in  vain."  Now,  to  every  one  who  reads  that, 
there  seems  a  whole  commandment  omitted.  I  turn  to  an- 
other Catechism  used,  "  revised,  corrected,  and  enlarged,  by 
the  four  Roman  Catholic  Archbishops  of  Ireland,"  and  there 
I  find  the  following :  "  Q.  Say  the  ten  commandments  of 
God.  A.  I.  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God ;  thou  shalt  not  have 
strange  gods  before  me.  II.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name 
of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain."  And,  in  short,  four  Irish 
Catechisms  that  I  have  bound  up  in  this  volume,  all  omit 
what  we  Protestants  call  the  second  commandment.  But 
you  must  be  very  cautious  in  making  this  charge,  because 
Roman  Catholics  divide  the  commandments  differently  from 
us :  they  attach  sometimes  the  second  commandment  to  the 
first.  And  therefore,  in  making  this  charge  you  must  say, 
"  You  omit  what  we  call  the  second  commandment,  or  what 
you  call  the  largest  share  of  the  first  commandment."  But, 
you  ask,  how  do  they  make  ten  ?  Why,  they  divide  the 
tenth  commandment  into  two  parts,  thus :  "  IX.  Thou 
shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife.  X.  Thou  shalt  not 
covet  thy  neighbor's  goods."     And  the  only  reason  that  I 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  5^f 

ever  heard  for  such  a  division,  is  one  given  by  Father  Ma- 
guire,  a  celebrated  priest  in  Ireland,  who  says,  that  Roman 
Catholics  display  far  higher  courtesy  than  we  do,  since  they 
give  a  man's  wife  a  whole  commandment  for  herself,  instead 
of  classifying  together  his  wife  and  his  goods,  as  we  do,  in 
one  commandment.  I  leave  you  to  judge  the  validity  of 
this  reason.  But  I  hold  another  Catechism  in  my  hand,  an 
Italian  Catechism,  which  was  picked  up  by  a  lady  walking 
along  the  streets  of  Rome.  She  saw  a  child  drop  it  on  the 
pavement,  —  the  cover  is  at  this  moment  soiled  with  the  mud 
of  Rome,  —  and  she  ran  after  the  child  with  the  Catechism, 
to  restore  it,  but  she  could  not  reach  him  before  he  was  out 
of  sight,  and  so  it  was  not  in  her  power  ;  and  she  was  kind 
enough  to  make  me  a  present  of  it.  This  Catechism  is 
sanctioned  by  two  Popes  ;  and  the  first  four  commandments 
are  given  thus  :  "  De'  Comandamenti  di  Dio.  M.  Veniamo 
ora  a  quello,  che  si  ha  da  operare  per  amare  Iddio,  ed  il 
Prossimo:  dite  i  dieci  Comandamenti.  D.  I.  lo  sono  il 
Signore  Iddio  tuo ;  non  avrai  altro  Dio  avanti  di  Me."  —  I 
am  the  Lord  thy  God ;  thou  shalt  have  none  other  god  but 
me.  —  "  II.  Non  pigliare  il  Nome  di  Dio  in  vano."  —  Thou 
shalt  not  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain.  —  And  then,  instead 
of  our  fourth  commandment,  their  third  commandment  is 
given  thus:  "III.  Ricordati  di  sanctificare  le  Feste."  — 
Recollect  to  keep  holy  the  festivals.  Now,  when  Dr.  New- 
man tells  us  that  we  omit  the  ninth  commandment,  he  needs 
to  be  told  how  much  his  own  church  has  erred  in  this  very 
particular.  But,  you  say,  why  should  the  Church  of  Rome 
sanction  these  omissions  ?  Go  into  a  Roman  Catholic  church, 
or  come  with  me  to  Belgium,  every  one  of  whose  churches 
I  have  minutely  examined,  and  you  will  find  standing 
in  the  naves  of  most  of  them  a  large  statue  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  the  people  in  groups  lifting  up  their  prayers  to 
that  statue ;  and  you  will  find  that  each  person  has  his 
favorite  saint  also,  before  whose  image  he  offers  incense,  and 


568  REVIEW    OP 

to  whom  he  makes  vows,  in  the  hope  and  the  desire  of  some 
immediate  deliverance.  And  the  Church  of  Rome  feels 
that  she  dare  not  write  the  second  commandment  on  the 
walls  of  her  churches,  and  at  the  same  time  keep  their 
niches  filled  with  saints,  reputed  and  real.  Either  she  must 
take  down  the  saints,  or  she  must  curtail  the  Decalogue  in 
order  to  keep  up  the  evil  practice  of  idolatry  in  which  she 
so  sadly  indulges.  And  then  as  to  the  fourth  commandment, 
one  can  see  a  reason  for  the  mutilation  of  that  precious 
requirement.  As  I  told  you  this  morning  —  at  Amiens,  on 
the  Festival  of  the  Assumption,  the  cathedral  was  crowded, 
the  shops  shut,  the  streets  empty ;  it  seems  to  be  a  day  of 
real,  though,  of  course,  unscriptural  devotion.  But  on  the  ensu- 
ing Sunday  when  it  was  only  God  who  was  to  be  worshipped, 
and  not  the  Virgin,  the  shops  were  open,  scenes  of  amuse- 
ment were  in  full  force ;  and  it  seemed  to  be  the  most  dis- 
sipated and  most  merry-making  day  of  the  seven  —  yet  it  is 
that  day  which  God  claims  especially  as  his  own.  The 
Church  of  Rome,  then,  sees  that  the  defence  of  a  holy  Sab- 
bath would  be  the  degradation  of  her  beloved  traditions ; 
and  that  if  God  were  more  worshipped  in  simplicity  and  in 
truth,  the  saints,  the  angels,  and  the  Virgin  would  occupy  a 
very  inferior  place  in  the  worship  and  the  adoration  of  her 
people.  It  is  the  whole  character  of  this  communion,  that 
it  supersedes  the  commandments  of  God  by  the  traditions 
of  man ;  it  seems  to  be  more  anxious  that  the  creature 
should  be  worshipped,  than  God  the  Creator,  who  is  God 
over  all,  and  blessed  for  ever.  So  much,  then,  for  Dr.  New- 
man's charge,  that  we  mutilate  the  ten  commandments.  It 
does  appear  to  me  that  it  is  no  light  sin  in  Romanism  thus 
to  omit  the  fourth  commandment,  or  thus  to  modify  it. 
Many  of  you,  I  dare  say,  being  near  the  Continent,  have 
visited  various  countries  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and 
can  testify  that  they  have  no  Sabbath  there.  I  have  seen 
no  such  thing  as  a  Sabbath  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  569 

And  I  generally  regard  a  nation's  Sabbaths  as  the  expo- 
nents of  a  nation's  religion.  What  the  Sabbath  is,  the  nation 
is  generally  found  to  be.  I  am  quite  sure  of  this,  that  you 
ought  rather  to  part  with  your  beautiful  churches  —  rather 
to  surrender  the  noblest  cathedrals  that  England  has,  than 
surrender  that  holy  day,  the  most  beautiful  of  the  seven,  on 
which  the  noble  and  the  peasant  feel  that  they  are  peers, 
and  on  which  the  rich  and  the  poor,  as  in  the  grave,  and 
around  the  judgment-seat,  may  meet  together,  and  feel  that 
God  is  the  Maker  of  them  all.  Popery  would  snatch  that 
precious  day  from  you :  but  so  long  as  you  have  that  blessed 
Book  that  tells  you  that  it  is  not  God's  exaction  so  much  as 
the  people's  privilege,  —  that  it  is  not  the  rich  man's  prop- 
erty so  much  as  the  poor  man's  right  —  nay,  more  than  his 
right,  a  vital  portion  of  his  actual  existence  upon  earth  — 
so  long  you  must  hold  it  fast.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  Sab- 
batJi  is  like  a  fair  island  flung  down  from  heaven,  and  cast 
into  the  roaring  torrent  of  this  world's  tralFic,  standing  upon 
which  I  can  see  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shine,  and  hear 
the  harmonies  of  the  better  land,  and  feel  that  the  world  in 
which  I  am  is  not  an  orphan  world,  —  that  I  am  indeed  a 
stranger  and  a  pilgrim  on  it,  but  yet  a  candidate  for  that 
everlasting  Sabbath,  that  true  rest  that  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God. 

Dr.  Newman  goes  on  in  his  book  to  notice,  at  page  128, 
a  subject  of  which  I  allege  he  is  not  a  competent  judge. 
He  says  that  the  law  of  celibacy,  in  the  case  of  the  clergy. 
is  better  than  that  of  matrimony ;  and  he  denies  that  we 
"  succeed  with  our  rule  of  matrimony  better  than  the  Roman 
Catholics  with  their  rule  of  celibacy."  Now,  I  deny  that 
Dr.  Newman  is  a  competent  judge  in  this  matter;  and  I 
protest  that  I  am.  He  is  a  bachelor  —  his  pope  is  an  old 
bachelor.  I  was  a  bachelor  for  some  years,  and  I  have 
been  married  for  some  years  too ;  and  therefore  I  think  I 
am  competent  to  say  which  of  the  two  states  is  the  most 
48* 


570  REVIEW   OP 

suitable  for  the  highest  efficiency  of  a  Christian  minister ; 
and  I  allege,  on  the  strength  of  an  experience  to  which  Dr. 
Newman  is  a  stranger,  that  the  latter  is  the  best.  lie  main- 
tains, having  experienced  only  one,  that  the  former  is  the 
most  advantageous.  Now,  I  would  counsel  him  to  go  and 
marry,  and  then  he  would  be  able  to  pronounce  which  is 
better  for  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  I  do  not,  however, 
put  it  upon  experience  ;  I  do  not  base  it  on  history.  The 
frightful  abuses  that  have  taken  place  in  the  Church  of 
Rome  are  legitimate  weapons  that  v/e  may  wield:  but  I 
decline  doing  so  here.  I  content  myself  with  opening  a 
book  which  Dr.  Newman  seems  to  shrink  from ;  and  I  find 
there,  that  a  bishop  must  be  the  husband  of  one  wife ;  and 
I  read  that,  if  Peter  were  the  first  of  the  popes,  which  I  am 
not  at  present  about  to  dispute,  Peter's  wife's  mother  was  ill; 
and,  if  he  had  a  wife's  mother  ill,  he  must  have  had  a  wife ; 
and  therefore  the  present  pope,  Pio  Nono,  being  an  aged 
and  most  respectable  bachelor,  presents  a  contrast  with  the 
first  pope,  Peter,  who,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
Evangelist,  was  a  married  man.  And  I  consider,  therefore, 
that  I  have  more  of  the  apostolical  succession  in  this  particu- 
lar than  the  present  Pope ;  and  that  I  am  more  like  what 
ministers  should  be  than  Dr.  Newman,  or  my  friend  Father 
Ignatius,  or  any  other  father  of  any  other  caste  or  class  of 
the  Papacy. 

He  then  states,  that  wherever  the  Poman  Catholic  religion 
has  flourished,  it  has  been,  in  a  national  sense,  a  great  bless- 
ing. In  answer  to  that,  I  quote  a  passage  from  Macaulay's 
very  splendid  History  of  England,  and  in  which  remarka- 
ble History  he  gives  a  picture  of  the  comparative  effects  of 
Romanism  and  Protestantism  in  different  realms  and  parts 
of  the  world.  Mr.  Macaulay  was  one  who  was  called  lati- 
tudinarian,  extremely  partial  to  Roman  Catholicism ;  and 
when  he  could  have  a  fling  at  Protestantism,  he  indulged  his 
taste  witliout  any  restraint.     He  voted  in  favor  of  the  annual 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  571 

grant  of  £30,000  to  the  College  of  Maynooth ;  and  he  was 
always  first  to  speak  in  favor  of  the  so-called  rights  of 
Koman  Catholics.  And  therefore,  his  testimony  is  a  most 
unexceptionable  one.  But  when  he  was  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  he  was  voting  as  a  politician ;  when  he  was  in 
his  study,  he  was  writing  simply  as  an  historian.  Well, 
what  does  the  historian  say  ?  If  I  had  read  it  first,  without 
mentioning  the  authorship,  some  would  have  said,  "  Oh,  it 
is  Dr.  Neile,  or  Mr.  Franklyn  of  Christ  Church,  or  some 
other  enthusiastic  Protestant;  it  cannot  be  said  by  an 
impartial  and  disinterested  historian!"  It  is  Babington 
Macaulay,  in  his  first  volume,  pp.  47,  48,  sixth  edition :  — 
"  From  the  time  when  the  barbarians  overran  the  Western 
Empire,  to  the  time  of  the  revival  of  letters,  the  influence 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  had  been  generally  favorable  to 
science,  to  civilization,  and  to  good  government.  But,  dur- 
ing the  last  three  centuries,  to  stunt  the  growth  of  the  human 
mind  has  been  her  chief  object.  Throughout  Christendom, 
whatever  advance  has  been  made  in  knowledge,  in  freedom, 
in  wealth,  and  in  the  arts  of  life,  has  been  made  in  spite  of 
her,  and  has  everywhere  been  in  inverse  proportion  to  her 
power.  The  loveliest  and  most  fertile  provinces  of  Europe 
have,  under  her  rule,  been  sunk  in  poverty,  in  political  ser- 
vitude, and  in  intellectual  torpor ;  while  protestant  countries, 
once  proverbial  for  sterility  and  barbarism,  have  been  turned, 
by  skill  and  industry,  into  gardens ;  and  can  boast  of  a  long 
list  of  heroes  and  statesmen,  philosophers  and  j:)oets.  Who- 
ever, knowing  Avhat  Italy  and  Scotland  naturally  are,  and 
what,  four  hundred  years  ago,  they  actually  were,  shall  now 
compare  the  country  round  Rome  with  the  country  round 
Edinburgh,  will  be  able  to  form  some  judgment  as  to  the 
tendency  of  Papal  domination.  The  descent  of  Spain,  once 
the  first  among  monarchies,  to  the  lowest  depths  of  degrada- 
tion—  the  elevation  of  Holland,  in  spite  of  many  natural 
disadvantages,  to  a  position  such  as  no  commonwealth  so 


572  REVIEW    OF 

small  has  ever  reached,  teach  the  same  lesson.  Whoever 
passes  in  Germany,  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant 
principality ;  in  Switzerland,  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a 
Protestant  canton  ;  in  Ireland,  from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a 
Protestant  county,  —  finds  that  he  has  passed  from  a  lower 
to  a  higher  grade  of  civilization.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  same  law  prevails.  The  Protestants  of  the 
United  States  have  left  far  behind  them  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Brazil.  The  Roman  Catholics  of 
Lower  Canada  remain  inert;  while  the  whole  continent 
round  them  is  in  a  ferment  with  Protestant  activity  and 
enterprise.  The  French  have,  doubtless,  shown  an  energy 
and  an  intelligence  which,  even  when  misdirected,  have 
justly  entitled  them  to  be  called  a  great  people.  But  this 
apparent  exception,  when  examined,  will  be  found  to  con- 
firm the  rule  ;  for,  in  no  country  that  is  called  Roman 
Catholic,  has  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  during  several 
generations,  possessed  so  little  authority  as  in  France." 
Well  now,  here  is  the  testimony,  not  of  a  heated  ecclesiasti- 
cal partisan,  but  of  a  very  sober  historian,  biassed  more  in 
favor  of  the  body  whom  he  thus  severely  handles,  than  in 
favor  of  those  who  are  likely  to  quote  his  testimony  against 
that  body. 

I  turn  to  another  passage  that  follows  in  Dr.  Newman's 
work,  almost  in  connection  with  this,  and  which  he  means 
to  be  partially  illustrative  of  it.  You  have  all  heard  of  the 
attempt  that  has  been  made  to  build  a  Protestant  church 
in  Rome.  You  may  recollect  that  Pope  Pius  IX.  has 
appointed  collections  to  be  made  in  all  the  churches  of 
Italy  for  the  following  purpose  (I  quote  his  very  few 
words)  :  "  To  erect  an  Italian  Catholic  church  in  a  cen- 
tral street  in  London,  for  the  use  of  Italians,  and  such  of 
the  natives  as  may  attend."  The  word  "  natives  "  is  not  a 
very  complimentary  one.  It  is  a  sort  of  Billingsgate  term, 
I  am  told,  especially  descriptive  of  oysters:  and,  therefore. 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  573 

for  his  Holiness  to  speak  of  "  Italians  "  —  that  is,  Italian 
subjects  of  Rome  —  "and  such  of  the  natives  who  may 
attend,"  is  not  very  complimentary  to  us,  though  it  may  be 
very  Roman  Catholic.  Well,  then,  when  I  read  this  state- 
ment, I  wrote  to  one  of  the  morning  newpapers,  proposing 
that  we  should  raise  money  to  build  a  Protestant  church  in 
Rome,  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  city,  for  the  use  of  resi- 
dent English  subjects,  and  such  of  the  natives  as  should 
attend.  When  this  suggestion  was  made,  I  received  from 
here  and  there,  and  day  after  day,  letters  offering  money  to 
carry  it  out.  Mr.  Burgess  called  upon  me,  and  said  that 
the  Bishop  of  Gibraltar  had  offered  to  raise  £1,000  himself. 
When  I  saw  this,  I  wrote  to  my  old  correspondent  and  my 
much  respected  friend.  Cardinal  Wiseman,  stating  the  prop- 
osition I  had  made,  and  begging  to  know,  first  of  all, 
whether  there  was  any  law,  municipal,  political,  or  other- 
wise, which  would  prevent  us  Protestants  from  having  a 
church  in  Rome ;  and,  secondly,  if  any  such  law  existed, 
whether  he  would  help  me  and  Mr.  Burgess  to  get  that  law 
modified  in  our  favor,  so  that  we  might  enjoy  in  Rome, 
precisely,  and  no  more,  the  same  toleration  which  he  and 
his  communion  enjoyed  here.  His  Eminence,  after  taking 
three  days  to  consider,  sent  me  a  reply  through  his  secre- 
tary, in  which  he  tells  me,  that  our  previous  correspondence 
was  so  unsatisfactory  to  his  Eminence,  that  he  declined  any 
more  on  the  same  subject.  I  therefore  could  extract  nothing 
more  ;  but  I  should  advise  any  of  you  —  for  I  am  told  he  is 
an  occasional  visitor  here — just  to  go  up  to  him,  and  ask 
him  if  he  will  give  you,  who  have  never  given  him  any 
offence,  an  answer  to  my  questions.  At  present  there  is  a 
positive  law  prohibiting  such  a  thing  as  a  Protestant  church 
within  the  walls  of  Rome;  but,  outside  the  walls,  Prot- 
estants have  been  allowed  a  room  over  a  pigsty,  which  was 
thought  to  be  a  great  condescension  on  the  part  of  his 
Holiness,  and  much  more  than  we  English  heretics  at  any 
time  deserved. 


574  REVIEW    OF 

But  here  is  a  remarkable  contrast.  If  I  go  to  Rome,  or 
to  Florence,  to  have  a  Bible  is  the  evidence  that  I  am  a 
criminal ;  and  to  read  it,  is  the  prelude  to  my  being  given 
in  charge  to  the  police,  or  to  the  sbirri,  as  they  call  them. 
If  I  were  to  attempt  to  hold  a  meeting  like  this,  we  should 
be  immediately  consigned  to  the  charge  of  the  Roman  police ; 
and  if  you  were  to  open  a  chapel,  in  order  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures alone,  it  would  instantly  be  prohibited,  and  you 
would  be  ordered  in  twenty-four  hours  to  make  yourself  a 
stranger  in  Rome.  In  short,  you  do  not  know  what  privi- 
leges you  have  in  this  great  land.  It  ought  to  be  riveted  in 
the  minds  of  the  English  people,  that  Romanism  cannot 
aiFord  to  be  generous  —  that  we  can.  We  so  little  dread  it 
in  the  fair  field  of  open  discussion,  that  we  give  it  full  and 
perfect  toleration,  satisfied  that  we  have  weapons  in  God's 
holy  AVord  more  than  able  to  match  it.  But  so  much  does 
Roman  Catholicism  dread  the  word  of  God  ;  so  conscious  is 
she  that  the  introduction  of  light  would  be  her  instant 
destruction,  that  all  her  efforts,  her  work,  and  her  machinery, 
are  meant  to  keep  out  light  at  all  hazards,  and  to  retain  her 
dear  and  congenial  darkness.  Ah  1  but  she  will  not  have  it 
long !  In  1848,  when  the  Pope  was  out  of  the  way,  six 
thousand  Italian  Testaments  were  scattered  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Italy.  And  the  Roman  Catholics  are  read- 
ing these  documents  at  this  moment ;  and  it  needs  only  the 
withdrawal  of  that  vast  inconsistency  —  Republican  bayo- 
nets to  keep  up  priestly  tyranny  —  for  the  Pope  to  find  his 
throne  and  his  dwelling-place  elsewhere.  A  lady,  whose 
son  is  the  correspondent  of  the  Daily  News,  whose  Roman 
intelligence  was  the  most  admirable  and  the  most  full  of  any 
that  was  given  in  the  papers,  told  me  that  she  was  in  the 
city  of  Rome  during  the  convulsion  of  1848,  and  that  she 
actually  saw  the  Roman  Catholics  reading  the  Scriptures, 
and  selecting  passages  out  of  these  Italian  Scriptures  to 
show  that  they  should  not  let  the  Pope  come  back  again. 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  575 

She  said  she  heard  this  text  cited :  "  I  am  the  good  shep- 
herd :  the  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep.  But 
he  that  is  an  hireling,  and  not  the  shepherd,  whose  own  the 
sheep  are  not,  seeth  the  wolf  coming,  and  leaveth  the  sheep, 
and  fleeth  :  and  the  wolf  catcheth  them,  and  scattereth  the 
sheep  ;  "  and  they  said.  He  has  left  us  ;  how  can  he  be  the 
good  shepherd  ?  I  may  mention,  that  a  celebrated  instru- 
ment, called  a  "bull  "  —  from  bulla,  the  wax  on  it  —  begins 
with  the  phrase.  Pastor  bo7ms,  a  title  of  the  Pope ;  and  the 
Roman  people  naturally  argued,  If  he  be  the  good  shepherd, 
he  would  surely  have  sto])ped  to  give  his  life  for  the  sheep ; 
but  he  is  an  hireling,  seeing  that  he  has  left  the  sheep. 
While  the  French  Republic's  cannon  balls  wore  bounding 
in  the  streets  in  all  directions,  she  saw  a  Roman  citizen  take 
up  a  large  ball,  and  presenting  it  to  the  people,  he  said. 
Can  these  be  the  arms  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Him  who 
said,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  else  would  my  ser- 
vants fight."  And  they  said.  Here  are  the  bullets  whistling 
in  the  ear,  and  the  cannon  balls  bounding  in  the  streets. 
Pio  Nono's  kingdom  seems  to  be  of  this  world.  Can  he  be 
the  representative  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  And  this  lady  saw  a 
person  take  the  large  ball,  the  only  one,  as  I  understood 
her,  that  came  through  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  and  write 
this  label  upon  it,  "  A  present  to  his  flock,  from  Pio  Nono," 
and  laid  it  in  a  nook  by  itself.  These  were  symptoms 
merely  of  what  was  working  in  the  minds  of  the  people ; 
and,  as  I  said,  there  are  true  Christians  in  Rome  —  a  peo- 
ple who  long  to  be  rescued  from  the  Papal  tyranny.  And 
I  do  deeply  deplore  the  day  when  France,  becoming  a  pup- 
pet in  the  hands  of  the  Jesuits,  sent  her  six  thousand  bayo- 
nets to  keep  up  a  system  decayed  to  the  very  core,  the 
ruin  of  which  will  be  a  vast  benefit  to  the  continent  of 
Europe. 

Now,  what  does  Dr.  Newman  say  of  this  prohibition  of  a 
Protestant  church  of  Rome?     He  admits  it  at  once.     I 


576  REVIEW   OF 

told  you  that  the  Roman  Catholics  are  more  bold  and  less 
concealed  now  than  they  used  to  be ;  therefore  hear  with 
what  naivete  he  states  the  reason  of  this  prohibition  :  "  The 
Government  of  Rome  hinders  them  there,  because  it  is 
able ;  Protestants  do  not  hinder  us  here,  because  they  are 
not  able."  Now,  that  is  all  the  thanks  you  get  for  your 
concessions.  We  Roman  Catholics  will  not  let  you  erect  a 
church,  because  we  are  able  to  prevent  it ;  but  you  Protes- 
tants are  not  able  to  prevent  us  from  doing  the  same  thing, 
and  therefore  we  will  build  our  churches  in  spite  of  you. 
That  is  all  the  thanks  you  receive  for  your  delightful  con- 
cessions. Now,  liberal  men,  put  that  in  your  pockets,  and 
remember  it  always.  I  tell  you  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
laughs  at  all  your  fine  concessions,  and  uses  the  ground  you 
have  given  her  as  the  platform  on  which  to  batter  down  the 
liberties  and  the  privileges  of  your  native  land. 

The  next  thing  that  Dr.  Newman  does  is  to  devote  a  great 
many  pages  to  Dr.  Achilli,  who  has  lately  occupied  a  very  con- 
spicuous part  in  connection  with  the  Church  of  Rome.  Now, 
I  do  not  know  the  merits  or  the  demerits  of  the  case  at  all. 
Certainly,  the  charges  of  Dr.  Newman,  in  the  course  of 
twelve  or  sixteen  pages,  are  so  flagrant,  and  so  scandalous, 
that  either  Achilli  must  be  the  worst  of  men,  or  he  must  be 
the  most  misrepresented  and  ill-treated  of  men.  They  are 
so  bad,  that  Achilli  has  commenced  an  action  against  the 
publishers  of  this  book,  some  of  the  accounts  of  which  you 
must  have  seen.  Dr.  Newman's  charges  are  all  given, 
specifying  dates  ;  and  I  have  read  all  that  he  says  against 
Achilli,  but  I  have  not  heard  Achilli's  defence.  But  I  take 
Dr.  Newman's  own  statement ;  and  it  turns  out  to  be  the 
case,  that,  after  these  great  sins  had  been  committed,  Achilli 
was  still  advanced  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ;  but  the 
instant  he  left  the  Church  of  Rome,  he  is  described  as  Dr. 
Newman  has  described  him.  Now,  it  seems  to  me  something 
in  favor  of  Achilli,  that,  so  long  as  he  was  in  the  Church  of 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  577 

Rome,  his  very  offences  would  seem  to  have  been  reasons 
for  his  promotion;  but  the  instant  he  comes  out  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  that  instant  he  is  blackened,  and  the  long 
hidden  tissue  is  brought  out  against  him.  Another  thing 
strikes  me  still  more  forcibly.  Achilli  commences  his  action 
against  Burns  and  Lambert,  the  printers,  and  his  solicitor 
writes  to  Dr.  Newman,  to  say,  "  Are  you  the  author  of  this 
book  ?  because  a  man's  printed  name  on  the  title-page  is  no 
legal  evidence  of  the  authorship."  Now,  I  think,  if  I  had 
been  Dr.  Newman,  I  should  have  replied,  "  I  am  the  author 
of  the  book ;  my  name,  you  perceive,  is  on  it  —  *  By  John 
Henry  Newman,  D.  D.,  Priest  of  the  Congregation  of  St. 
Philip  Neri.' "  And  if  this  is  not  Dr.  Newman's  book,  I  am 
sadly  misrepresenting  him ;  but,  instead  of  doing  this,  with 
consummate  Jesuitism  he  refuses  to  acknowledge  the  book. 
Now,  who  knows  but  that  he  will  prosecute  me  for  libelling 
him,  by  ascribing  this  book  to  him  ?  and  yet,  here  it  is, 
"  Lectures  on  the  Present  Position  of  Catholics  in  England  : 
addressed  to  the  Brothers  of  the  Oratory.  By  John  Henry 
Newman,  D.  D.,  Priest  of  the  Congregation  of  St.  Philip 
Neri."  And  he  uses  as  a  motto,  which  is  very  applicable  to 
this  very  subject,  "  Tempus  tacendi,  et  tempus  loquendi."  — 
There  is  a  time  to  be  silent,  and  a  time  to  speak.  —  He  has 
chosen  the  time  to  be  silent  just  now,  and  therefore  nothing 
can  be  extracted  from  Dr.  Newman  in  the  way  of  defending 
this  book.  I  know  nothing  about  the  merits  of  the  case.  I 
know  nothing  against  Achilli ;  but  I  only  know  this,  that  he 
is  sharing  the  lot  of  every  man  who  sees  the  necessity  of 
quitting  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk,  after 
reading  works  that  I  could  specify,  felt  it  necessary  to  re- 
nounce the  Church  of  Rome,  in  obedience  to  the  most 
enlightened  convictions.  I  know  that  he  has  renounced  the 
Romish  creed,  and  has  taken  the  communion  in  the  Church 
of  England.  The  instant  this  was  done,  I  was  furnished 
with  a  printed  circular  —  extensively  circulated,  it  appears, 
49 


578  REVIEW    OP 

for  I  found  it  at  the  episcopal  palace  last  week,  where  I  had 
the  honor  of  seeing  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough  —  blacken- 
ing his  Grace's  character  in  the  worst  manner.  Now,  there 
is  no  signature  to  it,  no  author's  name,  not  even  a  printer's 
or  a  publisher's  that  you  can  lay  hold  of.  But  here  is  the 
Church  of  Rome  just  at  her  old\  tricks.  The  inquisitors 
always  blackened  the  victim  before  they  burned  him ;  and 
though  they  cannot  burn  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  they  can  at 
least  blacken  him.  All  who  come  out  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  must  consent  to  be,  like  the  saints  of  old,  "  clothed  in 
sheepskins  and  goatskins "  —  despised,  calumniated,  and 
spitefully  intreated.  I  have  often  felt  surprised  that  so 
many  come  out  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  and  I  am  not  sur- 
prised to  see  so  few  come  out  of  it ;  for,  if  you  should  join 
it,  what  is  the  fact  ?  You  must  tell  the  priest  every  thing 
in  your  conscience,  —  every  association,  domestic,  personal, 
social,  moral,  —  every  thing  about  you;  and  the  priest, 
therefore,  knows  every  member  of  his  flock  just  as  thor- 
oughly as  any  member  knows  himself;  and  I  need  not  tell 
you,  that  the  man  who  knows  me  as  well  as  I  know  myself, 
is  my  master,  and  I  am  his  slave.  And  if  you  notice  a 
Protestant  minister,  like  Mr.  Franklyn  or  Mr.  Lyon,  meet 
any  of  his  flock,  they  do  so  as  brethren,  exchanging  the 
smile  of  recognition  and  of  friendship;  but  just  notice  a 
priest  do  the  same  thing,  and  you  will  see  on  his  lip  the  lofty 
sneer,  and  in  his  eye  the  keen  glance  that  seems  to  say, 
"Ah!  I  know  you  better  than  you  know  yourself;"  and 
you  will  see  in  the  member  of  his  flock  the  cringing  de- 
meanor that  seems  to  wince  before  the  eye  of  that  thorough 
priestly  tactician.  And  hence  it  has  appeared  to  me  amaz- 
ing, that  so  many  have  the  courage  to  leave  a  system  where 
they  have  been  so  thoroughly  sifted  and  analyzed,  and  by 
which  they  have  every  reason  to  believe,  in  case  of  their 
secession,  every  thing  will  be  turned  to  the  best  account,  in 
order  to  do  them  damage.     Such  is  that  system  with  which 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  579 

we  have  to  deal,  and  such  is  the  course  which  Dr.  Newman 
pursues  with  reference  to  poor  Achilli. 

Tlie  next  passages  I  refer  to  are  Dr.  Newman's  remarks 
on  miracles,  on  which  I  have  been  for  some  weeks  preparing 
a  lecture,  which  I  am  going  down  to  Birmingham  to  deliver 
in  December ;  and  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  meet  Dr.  New- 
man, and  hear  any  explanations  he  may  wish  to  make ;  for 
I  am  perfectly  sure  that  no  priest  upon  earth  can  stand 
before  one  who  knows  the  Romish  system  as  well  as  the 
priest  knows  it,  and  who  knows  what  the  priest  does  not 
know  —  the  Word  of  God  from  Genesis  to  Revelation.  Dr. 
Newman  here  avows  his  belief  in  the  following  words.  He 
says,  "  The  Catholic  Church,  from  east  to  west,  from  north 
to  south,  is,  according  to  our  conceptions,  hung  with  mira- 
cles ;  the  store  of  relics  is  inexhaustible."  I  shall  show 
you  that  that  is  perfectly  true.  "  At  Rome,"  he  says,  "  there 
is  the  true  cross,  the  crib  of  Bethlehem,  and  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter  ;  portions  of  the  crown  of  thorns  are  kept  at  Paris ; 
the  holy  coat  is  shown  at  Treves  :  the  winding-sheet  at 
Turin ;  at  Monza,  the  iron  crown  is  formed  out  of  a  nail  of 
the  cross ;  and  another  nail  is  claimed  for  the  Duomo  of 
Milan  ;  and  pieces  of  our  lady's  habit  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
Escurial.  The  Agnus  Dei,  blest  medals,  the  scapular,  the 
cord  of  St.  Francis,  all  are  the  medium  of  divine  manifes- 
tations and  graces.  Crucifixes  have  bowed  the  head  to  the 
suppliant,  and  Madonnas  have  bent  their  eyes  upon  assem- 
bled crowds.  St.  Januarius's  blood  liquefies  periodically  at 
Naples,  and  St.  Winifred's  well  is  the  scene  of  wonders, 
even  in  an  unbelieving  country.  Women  are  marked  with 
the  sacred  stigmata ;  blood  has  flowed  on  Fridays  from  their 
five  wounds,  and  their  heads  are  crowned  with  a  circle  of 
lacerations.  Relics  are  ever  touching  the  sick,  the  diseased, 
the  wounded,  sometimes  with  no  result  at  all,  at  other  times 
with  marked  and  undeniable  efficacy.  Who  has  not  heard 
of  the   abundant  favors  gained  by  the  intercession  of  the 


580  REVIEW    OF 

Blessed  Virgin,  and  of  the  marvellous  consequences  wliicli 
have  attended  the  invocation  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua? 
These  phenomena  are  sometimes  reported  of  saints  in  their 
lifetime,  as  well  as  after  death,  especially  if  they  were 
evangelists  or  martyrs.  The  wild  beasts  crouched  before 
their  victims  in  the  Roman  amphitheatre ;  the  axe-man  was 
not  able  to  sever  St.  Cecilia's  head  from  her  body ;  and  St. 
Peter  elicited  a  spring  of  water  for  his  jailor's  baptism  in 
the  Mamertine.  St.  Francis  Xavier  turned  salt  water  into 
fresh  for  five  hundred  travellers.  St.  Raymond  was  trans- 
ported over  the  sea  on  his  cloak ;  St.  Andrew  shone  brightly 
in  the  dark  ;  St.  Scholastica  gained  by  her  prayers  a  pour- 
ing rain  ;  St.  Paul  was  fed  by  ravens ;  and  St.  Frances  saw 
her  guardian  angel."  And  I  may  add,  that  one  saint  walked 
with  his  head  in  his  hand  after  it  was  cut  off.  Dr.  Newman 
believes  all  that.  And  then  he  says,  that  these  miracles  are 
as  antecedently  probable,  that  is,  as  credible  and  as  likely, 
as  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament.  Now,  I  think  just 
the  very  reverse.  It  seems  to  me,  that  the  miracles  done 
by  our  blessed  Lord  have  a  majesty,  a  dignity,  a  reason  for 
them  in  the  foundation  of  a  glorious  and  a  new  dispensation  ; 
but  that  these  miracles  —  saints  saihng  upon  their  cloaks, 
saints  carrying  their  heads  in  their  hands,  St.  Januarius's 
blood  liquefying  once  a  year,  the  crib  of  Bethlehem,  and  the 
true  cross,  are  really  some  of  them  such  extravagances,  and 
others  such  puerilities,  that  I  can  see  no  great  end  to  be 
answered,  no  cause  that  necessitated  them,  and  therefore  no 
claim. 

What  a  rebuke  to  them  all  is  this  text  of  Scripture  that 
I  read  the  other  day,  and  which  struck  me  exceedingly, 
"  John  did  no  miracle  ! "  John  x.  41 .  Now,  there  is  not  a 
Roman  Catholic  saint  who  does  not  positively  weep  and 
perspire  miracles.  He  seems  like  an  electric  jar,  for  they 
burst  from  him  in  brilliant  corruscations  at  every  pore.  A 
Romish  saint  unsurrounded  by  miracles  would  be  a  uon- 


DR.  Newman's  lectures. 

entity,  an  absurdity.  And  he  speaks  of  the  "  true  cross  " 
being  "at  Rome."  Now,  Dr.  Newman  must  know  that 
there  have  been  as  many  "  true  crosses  "  in  the  world  as 
would  build  a  ship  of  war.  And  it  is  a  fact,  that  as  early 
as  in  the  fifth  century,  portions  of  the  "  true  cross "  were 
manufactured  ;  and  the  demand  for  them  was  so  great,  that 
there  was  no  supplying  it.  I  myself  saw  a  bit  of  the 
"  true  cross "  in  a  church  at  Belgium.  One  day  I  saw  a 
crowd  of  persons  walking  up  the  aisle  of  the  church.  I 
did  not  know  what  it  was,  but  I  joined  in  the  current  and 
marched  on.  I  then  saw  a  person  go  up  to  the  altar  and 
a  female  presented  a  piece  of  glass  about  the  size  of  a  candle- 
stick, with  something  in  it,  and  after  wiping  it  with  a  towel, 
which  I  thought  indicated  great  tidiness,  she  handed  it  to 
him  and  to  others  to  kiss ;  and  then  the  person  who  kissed 
it  put  a  piece  of  money  in  a  box  close  by.  At  last  she  came 
to  me  ;  I  told  her  in  French  that  I  should  not  kiss  it ;  and 
she  asked  me  why,  since  it  was  a  piece  of  the  "  true  cross," 
and  she  looked  at  me  in  utter  amazement.  I  said,  "  Are 
you  sure  ?  "  She  said,  "  Quite  sure,  perfectly  sure,  no  doubt 
about  it ;  without  doubt  the  *  true  cross ! ' "  I  said  that  I 
would  put  a  double  coin  in  the  box,  which  I  did,  and  she 
seemed  perfectly  satisfied.  There  are  so  many  fragments 
of  the  "  true  cross,"  that  Paulinus,  who  writes  in  the  fifth 
century,  says,  "  The  cross,  possessing  a  living  power  in  its 
senseless  material  substance,  has  continued  daily  to  afford 
its  wood  to  the  innumerable  cravings  of  men,  in  such  a 
manner  as  not  to  have  sustained  any  loss."  Now  this  is  the 
account  of  the  "  true  cross."  And  yet  Dr.  Newman  is  so 
besotted  by  the  superstitions  of  which  he  is  the  unhappy 
victim,  that  he  proclaims,  before  listening,  wondering  Eng- 
land, that  "  at  Rome  there  is  the  true  cross,  the  crib  of 
Bethlehem,  and  the  chair  of  St.  Peter."  Why,  the  last  is 
known  to  be  an  old  Saracenic  chair ;  and  if  any  of  you 
have  read  the  discussions  in  the  Times  newspaper,  you  must 
49* 


582  REVIEW    OF 

have  felt  how  they  completely  prove  that  it  is  a  Saracenic 
or  Mahometan  chair.  And  the  probability  is,  that  Peter 
never  was  at  Rome  ;  and  there  is  proof  that  he  never  made 
use  of  that  chair  at  Rome. 

And  he  says,  that  "  St  Januarius's  blood  liquefies  periodi- 
cally at  Naples."  Now  after  tracing  out  the  whole  history 
of  this  saint's  blood,  I  would  ask  Dr.  Newman,  Are  you 
satisfied  that  it  is  blood  at  all  ?  and,  if  so,  what  are  your 
proofs  ?  And,  secondly,  are  you  satisfied  that  it  is  St. 
Januarius's  blood  ?  and,  if  so,  what  are  your  proofs  ?  And, 
thirdly,  are  you  quite  sure  that  it  liquefies  miraculously? 
Are  you  satisfied  that  it  is  not  the  warmth  of  the  priest's 
hand  that  causes  it  ?  because,  being  hard  at  one  degree  of 
Fahrenheit,  it  might  liquefy  at  a  higher  degree.  And, 
in  the  fourth  place,  Gui  bono? — What  is  the  use  of  it?  — 
"We  never  find  a  profusion  of  miracles  in  Scripture.  How 
beautiful  was  it  when  He  fed  the  five  thousand,  "  Gather 
up  the  fragments  that  remain,  that  nothing  be  lost."  No 
excessive  expenditure  of  power,  but  using  means  wherever 
means  were  adequate  ;  interposing  omnipotence  when  there 
was  an  end  and  an  occasion  that  required  it.  But  in  this 
Romish  Church  there  seems  to  be  a  perfect  excess  of  power, 
and  miracles  are  the  ordinary  things,  not  the  extraordinary. 
I  can  see  no  end  to  be  answered  by  the  periodical  liquefac- 
tion of  St.  Januarius's  blood.  And  then  I  have  heard  or 
read  of  this  incident  —  I  wish  any  one  could  give  me  the 
document  that  relates  to  it — that  one  of  Napoleon's  marshals 
was  at  Naples,  and  there  was  a  great  commotion  among  the 
inhabitants  because  the  saint's  blood  had  not  liquefied  at  the 
proper  time  ;  and  this  marshal  threatened  to  blow  up  the 
saint's  relics  if  the  liquefaction  did  not  take  place  within  a 
certain  time.  Well,  as  tradition  tells,  in  due  time  the  saint's 
blood  did  liquefy  under  the  fear  of  the  marshal's  cannon, 
but  not  certainly  in  the  way  of  miraculous  manifestation. 

Then  there  are,    "  the  holy  coat   shown  at  Treves ;  the 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  583 

winding-sheet  at  Turin  ;  at  Monza,  tlie  iron  crown  is  formed 
out  of  a  nail  of  the  cross  ;  and  anotlier  nail  is  claimed  for 
the  Duomo  of  Madrid ;  and  pieces  of  our  Lady's  habit  are 
to  be  seen  in  the  Escurial.  The  Agnus  Dei,  blest  medals, 
the  scapular,  the  cord  of  St.  Francis,"  and  many  others. 
In  short,  Dr.  Newman  says,  "  The  store  of  relics  is  inex- 
haustible." He  is  perfectly  right ;  they  are  inexhaustible  ; 
and  some  of  the  evidence  that  I  have  given  you  is  proof  that 
they  are  so.  I  myself  was  at  Cologne,  and  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle;  and  at  one  of  the  churches  at  Cologne  the 
whole  of  the  wall  is  built  of  bones,  which  they  say  are 
those  of  eleven  thousand  virgins  who  were  killed  whilst 
escaping  from  the  persecuting  Romans.  And  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  the  following  relics  are  regularly  exhibited:  — 
1.  Une  chemise  de  nOtre  Dame  qu'elle  a  portee.  2.  Les  linges 
ou  bandelettes  dans  lesquelles  le  petit  Jesus  a  et^  enveloppe. 
3.  Les  singe  dans  lequel  fut  enveloppee  la  tete  de  St.  Jean 
Batiste,  apres  qu'il  eut  ete  coupe  par  ordre  du  Hoi  Ilerode, 
Ton  y  voit  encore  les  marques  de  son  sang.  Read  Bishop 
Burnet's  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  in  order  to  see  that 
Romish  relics  are  inexhaustible.  The  bishop  tells  us,  that 
a  duck's  blood  was  used  for  a  saint's,  and  was  reputed  a  very 
great  miracle  worked.  Now  this  is  exactly  St.  Januarius's 
blood,  according  to  Bishop  Burnet.  The  bishop  sjiys  it 
even  is  really  true  blood,  only  that  it  was  the  blood  of  a 
duck.  Other  relics  he  mentions  which  are  most  grotesque 
and  extravagant.  You  will  also  find  a  list  of  relics  in  Mr. 
Seymour's  book,  called  "  A  Pilgrimage  to  Rome."  You 
will  also  find  in  the  Hon.  Mr.  Percy's  Travels  to  Rome,  an 
account  of  the  relics.  He  says,  "  Over  various  altars  in 
Rome  are  lists  of  relics."  In  one  list  which  Mr.  Percy  saw, 
and  copied  down,  is,  "  Part  of  the  Chain  of  John  the  Baptist." 
Speaking  of  John  the  Baptist:  when  I  visited  Amiens  the 
other  day,  I  watched  an  old  man  stepping  across  that  beau- 
tiful  cathedral,  and,  after  ascending  three   or  four  steps, 


584  REVIEW   OF 

kneeling  down  and  kissing  something,  and  then  dropping 
some  money  into  a  box  beside.  I  resolved  to  follow  the 
man,  and  I  found  that  it  was  the  skull  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  kept  in  Amiens  Cathedral,  and  which  the  people 
revered  and  kissed.  I  went  to  the  sexton,  and  bought  a 
small  book  in  French,  giving  an  account  of  the  miraculous 
transport  of  the  skull  to  Amiens,  and  explaining  the  intense 
devotion  of  the  people  to  such  a  precious  relic. 

There  is  one  very  extraordinary  miracle:  the  body  of 
St.  Andrew  is  worshipped  and  seen  at  three  different  places 
Now  observe  you,  just  conceive  the  day  on  which  St.  Andrew 
will  rise  from  the  dead.  His  body  at  Rome  will  meet  his 
body  at  the  other  places,  wondering  and  disputing  which  is 
St.  Andrew.  In  fact,  the  thing  is  absurd ;  and  the  only 
answer  that  can  be  given  is.  Dr.  Newman's  relics  are  inex- 
haustible —  so  numerous  and  so  prolific,  that  really  there  is 
no  end  or  limit  to  them  at  all.  But  the  whole  thing  is  a 
most  melancholy  testimony  to  the  credulity  of  a  great 
mind,  not  in  its  dotage,  but  in  its  moral  intoxication,  admits 
ting  the  extravagant  absurdities  and  anile  fables  that  are 
recorded  in  this  volume.  And  it  shows,  that  when  once  one 
has  slipped  off  the  platform  of  truth  on  the  side  of  error, 
there  is  no  telling  how  far  one  may  go,  or  where  one  will 
stop.  Truth  is  the  narrow  apex  of  a  pyramid,  and  on  all 
sides  there  is  an  inclined  plane ;  and  a  person  must  either 
lie  where  Dr.  Newman  is,  or  he  must  stand  where  Mr. 
Franklyn  now  does.  There  is  no  resting-place  midway 
between  thorough  Protestantism  and  thorough  Roman  Ca- 
tholicism ;  there  is  nothing  between.  And  you  will  see,  by 
and  by,  how  true  this  is.  One  half,  I  fear,  of  those  who 
have  long  approximated  to  Rome  will  go  there  ;  and  another 
half —  I  pray  the  largest  half —  will  come  back  to  that  Prot- 
estantism which,  by  their  own  folly,  or  by  the  means  of 
others,  they  unhappily  left. 

But  the  great  miracle  which  Dr.  Newman  considers  to 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  585 

be  the  miracle  of  miracles,  that  beats  tliem  all,  is  what  is 
called  Transubstantiation.  You  are  aware  that  in  the 
Church  of  Rome  they  soberly  believe  that  the  piece  of  bread 
that  is  placed  upon  the  altar,  as  they  call  it,  every  Sunday, 
is  turned  —  literally  turned  —  into  the  body  and  blood,  the 
soul  and  divinity,  of  the  Son  of  God.  Now  recollect,  this 
is  what  the  Church  of  Rome  calls  its  standing  miracle,  being 
a  miracle  repeated  every  Sunday,  and  the  great  evidence 
that  the  Church  of  Rome  is  the  true  Church  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  I  may  state  to  you,  as  a  specimen  of  the 
arguments  by  which  it  is  defended,  that  one  day,  along  with 
Admiral  Harcourt,  we  were  holding  a  meeting  at  Bermond- 
sey ;  the  room  in  which  it  was  held  would  not  hold  more 
than  six  hundred  people :  it  was  an  old  temperance  hall. 
About  four  hundred  Roman  Catholics  rushed  into  this  room, 
so  that  they  had  the  majority.  Well,  Admiral  Harcourt 
spoke  about  half  an  hour;  after  which  I  addressed  them. 
They  listened  to  me  very  quietly  for  about  ten  minutes ;  after 
that,  something  that  I  said  seemed  to  them  too  severe, 
though  it  was  not  really  so,  and  they  made  a  very  great  dis- 
turbance ;  in  fact,  it  sounded  just  as  if  a  mine  of  gunpowder 
had  been  blown  up.  I  remained  perfectly  still,  and  I  noticed 
just  from  a  glance,  that  they  were  chiefly  Irish.  And  here 
I  may  state,  that  whenever  I  have  an  English  congregation, 
I  find  that  they  are  such  matter-of-fact  people,  that  you 
never  can  touch  their  feelings,  or  their  imagination ;  and, 
consequently,  they  make  the  best  jurymen  in  the  world.  As 
to  the  Scotch,  too,  there  is  no  getting  at  a  Scotchman's  heart 
without  a  gregt  deal  of  reasoning  with  the  head ;  and  then, 
when  you  have  got  at  his  heart,  you  are  not  a  bit  nearer  his 
pocket.  But  when  one  has  got  an  Irish  congregation,  one 
can  turn  them  any  way  one  likes.  They  are  a  fine  race, 
and  need  but  the  bright  light  of  Protestant  Christianity,  to 
be  the  noblest  people  under  the  sun.  And,  let  me  tell  you, 
there  is  a  probability  that  Ireland  will  be  Protestant.     The 


58^  REVIEW    OF 

cholera  has  thinned  its  population,  which  I  deeply  deplore ; 
famine  has  thinned  it  still  more ;  and  now  emigration  is 
carrying  away  vast  numbers  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  time  has 
been  called  "  the  Irish  Exodus."  And  the  American  Am- 
bassador told  me  the  other  day,  that  invariably  the  children 
of  the  Irish  who  go  out  to  America  never  continue  Roman 
Catholics.  Now  what  is  the  case  in  Ireland  ?  —  that  the 
Protestant  and  Popish  congregations  are  nearly  equal. 
There  are  about  three  millions  and  a  half  of  Roman  Cath- 
olics, and  three  millions  of  Protestants.  And  such  are  the 
conversions  that  are  going  on  now,  that  the  Bishop  of  Tuam 
—  and  I  felt  much  honored  by  it  —  invited  me,  through  Dr. 
Smith,  T.  C.  D.,  to  go  round  with  him  and  see  him  confirm- 
ing the  people  who  had  been  converted  from  Popery. 
I  had  just  returned  from  the  Continent,  or  I  should  most 
certainly  have  gone  to  see  the  blessed  spectacle.  It  seems 
to  me  at  this  moment  like  a  second  Pentecost  in  Ireland ; 
and  I  think  every  one  ought  to  support  the  Irish  Church 
Missions. 

But,  to  return  to  our  meeting,  I  said  my  audience  was 
almost  entirely  Irish.  Well,  when  the  noise  had  subsided  a 
little,  I  said,  "  I  know  you  Irishmen  so  well,  that  you  are 
the  best  men  in  the  world  for  fair  play.  Will  you  four 
hundred  Irishmen  see  me  put  down?"  And  they  said, 
*'  Hear  him,  boys  ! ,"  till  at  last  they  said  that  they  would  see 
fair  play.  I  knew  they  had  some  priest,  or  confraternity 
schoolmaster,  in  the  place,  —  I  dare  say  there  are  a  couple 
of  Jesuits  in  this  room ;  and  if  I  make  any  mistake,  you 
will  hear  of  it  soon,  but  if  not,  you  may  be  s«re  that  they 
have  no  refutation  to  make,  —  so  I  said,  "  Choose  one  of 
your  number,  and  he  shall  speak  for  five  minutes  on  any 
subject  he  likes,  and  I  will  reply  for  the  same  time;  and  so, 
alternately,  as  long  as  you  like."  They  immediately  pointed 
out  a  confraternity  schoolmaster,  and  the  topic  he  introduced 
was   transubstantiation.     He  spoke  for  five  minutes,   and 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  587 

whilst  he  was  speaking,  I  kept  the  Protestants  quiet,  so  that 
when  it  came  to  my  turn  I  had  an  attentive  audience.  One 
of  his  arguments  was  this :  "  You  said,  sir,  if  transubstan- 
tiation  be  a  miracle,  and  as  a  miracle  is  true,  we  know  of 
nothing  like  it,  because  the  senses  are  not  affected  by  it. 
Now,"  he  said,  "  have  you  had  your  dinner  to-day  ? "  I 
replied  in  the  affirmative.  "  Well,"  he  continued,  "  do  not 
you  know,  that  instead  of  transubstantiation  being  an  out  of 
the  way  miracle,  it  is  a  miracle  that  has  its  likeness  in  every 
being  ?  for,  if  you  eat  no  bread,  you  would  have  no  flesh, 
and  if  you  were  to  cease  drinking,  you  would  have  no  blood. 
In  short,  transubstantiation  goes  on  in  every  one."  They 
thought  they  had  completely  answered  me.  Of  course,  I 
got  my  live  minutes  to  reply.  I  merely  quote  this  to  show 
you  the  ingenious  arguments  which  are  adduced  in  support 
of  this  miracle ;  and  I  dare  say  there  are  people  before  me 
who  would  not  be  able  to  answer  it.  It  is  indeed  most  in- 
genious, but,  you  will  notice,  there  is  a  defect  in  it ;  and 
accordingly,  I  answered  it  thus  :  "  I  take  my  bread  before  I 
eat  it ;  and  show  it  to  you.  It  feels  like  bread,  it  weighs 
like  bread,  it  looks  like  bread,  it  tastes  like  bread.  I  eat  it ; 
and  next  day,  I  cut  out  a  bit  of  my  flesh  and  show  it  to  you. 
It  feels  like  flesh,  it  weighs  like  flesh,  it  looks  like  flesh,  it 
tastes  like  flesh ;  and  you  are  sure  that  it  is  flesh,  and  that 
it  was  bread  yesterday.  I  go  to  your  priest's  altar,  and  he 
shows  me  the  bread  before  it  is  transubstantiated ;  and  it 
feels  like  bread,  it  weighs  Hke  bread,  it  looks  like  bread,  it 
tastes  like  bread.  He  then  pronounces  the  words  Hoc  est 
meum  corpus,  I  take  it  up  again,  but  instead  of  tasting, 
weighing,  looking,  or  feeling  like  flesh,  it  tastes,  weighs, 
looks,  and  feels  still  like  bread.  In  the  one  case,  the  tran- 
substantiation was  complete ;  in  the  other,  there  is  no  tran- 
substantiation at  all."  And  again,  to  quote  another  instance 
of  the  arguments  in  support  of  that  miracle,  I  refer  to  the 
discussion  called  the  "  Hammersmith  Discussion,"  which  todk 


58$  REVIEW    OF 

place  between  Mr.  French,  a  barrister,  supported  by  three 
or  four  Roman  Catholic  priests,  with  two  chairmen  —  one 
Roman  Catholic,  and  the  other  Protestant,  and  myself.  All 
the  speeches  were  taken  down  in  shorthand,  by  the  Roman- 
ist's own  reporter,  and  published,  and  they  took  all  the  profits 
and  we  bought  two  hundred  copies.  The  printed  copies 
were  all  sold,  and  I  was  anxious  to  have  it  republished  at  a 
reduced  price,  and  so  wrote  to  Mr.  French's  friends,  and  the 
publishers,  to  tell  them  so,  and  that  they  should  see  that  I 
did  not  alter  Mr.  French's  speeches.  They  sent  an  answer 
strictly  refusing  to  allow  us.  We  then  consulted  a  barrister, 
who  said  that,  as  there  was  no  property  in  the  book,  he  did 
not  think  the  Chancellor  would  give  a  judgment  against  us  ; 
but,  he  said,  "  If  the  worst  came  to  the  worst,  you  would 
have  to  move  to  dissolve  the  injunction,  which  would  cost  a 
hundred  pounds."  Well,  I  went  to  Messrs.  Hall  and  Virtue, 
of  Paternoster  Row,  and  said,  "  Now,  here  are  the  facts  of 
the  case.  I  will  make  you  a  present  of  my  part  of  it ;  but, 
mind  you,  the  Roman  Catholics  will  take  out  an  injunction, 
and  you  will  have  to  dissolve  it,  which  will  cost  a  hundred 
pounds."  And  Mr.  Hall  said,  "  I  will  publish  it  at  once, 
atid  at  the  very  cheapest  rate  at  which  it  can  be  done  ;  and 
I  only  hope  that  the  Roman  Catholics  will  take  out  an  in- 
junction :  for  I  should  have  spent  a  hundred  pounds  in  ad- 
vertising, and  their  doing  so  will  be  the  most  splendid  adver- 
tisement I  could  have."  Singular  enough,  he  has  published 
the  book,  and  has  sold  already  about  nine  thousand  copies  of 
it,  and  made,  I  should  think,  a  good  profit,  cheap  as  the  book 
is :  and  he  is  longing  for  the  Roman  Catholics  to  take  out 
the  injunction,  and  to  pay  the  hundred  pounds  to  dissolve  it. 
Well,  in  carrying  on  this  discussion,  the  subject  it  turned  on 
first  was  Transubstantiation  ;  and  Mr.  French  quoted  to  me 
the  text,  "  This  is  my  body ;  "  and  he  turned  round  to  me 
with  very  great  tact,  —  there  were  some  four  hundred  Ro- 
man Catholics  present,  and  said,  —  "  Now,  sir,  none  of  your 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  589 

v)rientalisms,  none  of  your  explanations,  none  of  your  figures 
of  speech.  Here  are  the  words.  To  the  Scripture  I  go. 
*  This  is  my  body ! '  That  pro\-es  it."  When  I  had  to 
reply,  I  just  opened  Isaiah,  and  read  these  words  (xl.  6)  — 
"  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the 
flower  of  the  field."  "  Now,  sir,"  I  said,  "  none  of  your 
orientalisms,  none  of  your  explanations,  none  of  your  figures 
of  speech.  To  the  Scripture  I  go.  You  are  neither  a  man, 
nor  Mr.  French,  the  barrister,  but  a  bundle  of  grass.  If  I 
were  to  prick  you,  like  Shakspeare's  Jew,  you  would  not  feci 
it.  In  short,  I  have  been  under  a  mistake,  and  have  been 
arguing  with  a  bundle  of  grass  all  this  time."  At  this,  the 
poor  man  quite  lost  his  confidence,  and  both  he  and  the 
priests  at  his  side  could  not  help  laughing.  And  another 
thing  I  may  mention,  too,  when  he  quoted  this  text,  "  This 
is  my  body,"  I  told  him  that  when  I  looked  at  the  wafer 
after  it  has  been  transubstantiated,  it  looked  like  a  wafer 
still.  "  O  but,"  said  he,  "  your  senses  are  deceived  :  that  is 
the  miracle.  Most  miracles  are  visible  to  the  senses,  but 
this  is  sui  generis,  since  the  senses  are  deceived."  I  said 
that,  if  the  senses  were  deceived  then,  they  may  be  deceived 
every  weekday,  and  even  on  that  platform.  But  he  still 
cited,  "  This  is  my  body."  So  I  asked  him  to  show  it  me. 
Looking  at  the  text  I  read,  "These  are  the  bricks  with 
which  Babylon  was  built."  He  said,  "  No  ;  you  are  joking," 
I  said,  "  No ;  I  am  perfectly  sincere.  You  say,  the  senses 
are  deceived ;  how  do  you  know,  then,  that  it  is  not  thus 
said,  ^ These  are  the  bricks  with  which  Babylon  was  built;' 
if  my  senses  choose  to  read  them  thus,  and  your  senses 
otherwise,  who  is  to  decide  ?  "  This  miracle,  by  which  the 
senses  are  said  to  be  deceived,  is  the  most  successful  and 
ready  pathway  to  scepticism  ;  for,  if  the  senses  are  deceived 
as  they  gaze  upon  the  altar,  the  senses  of  the  apostles  might 
have  been  deceived  when  they  saw  Jesus  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  your  religion  may  thus  be  vain,  and  our  preaching 
50 


590  REVIEW    OF 

vain.  And  by  denying  the  evidence  of  the  t\enses,  all  the 
miracles  of  Scripture  are  gone,  all  the  proofs  of  the  resur- 
rection are  gone.  And  therefore  do  not  be  surprised  if  a 
century  of  Popish  superstition  has,  as  its  reaction,  a  century 
of  infidelity  afterwards  ;  and  do  not  be  startled  if  I  say, 
that  Voltaire,  and  Diderot,  and  D'Alembert,  and  other 
of  the  infidels  of  the  last  century,  were  the  creations  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion ;  and  that  that  religion  has 
the  blood  of  souls  and  the  guilt  of  infidelity  upon  its 
present  robes.  So  much,  then,  for  Dr.  Newman's  belief  in 
these  miracles. 

I  have  brought  another  volume  of  Dr.  Newman's  ''  Dis- 
courses, delivered  at  Charing  Cross,"  on  which  I  do  not 
enter,  but  which  give  evidence  of  the  awful  depth  of  super- 
stition into  which  that  gifted  mind  has  now  unhappily  fallen. 
Let  us  then,  my  dear  friends,  as  we  review  the  whole,  see 
that  Romanism  degrades  the  intellect,  cramps  the  heart, 
destroys  the  best  and  noblest  feelings  in  the  human  bosom. 
Let  us  see,  from  what  it  has  made  Dr.  Newman,  what  it 
must  have  made  less  gifted  spirits  on  the  continent  of 
Europe.  Poor  Mr.  Sibthorp  saw  by  bitter  experience 
what  a  terrible  deception  it  is  :  he  has  come  out  of  it.  Let 
us  pray  that  Dr.  Newman  may  yet  be  spared  to  learn  truly 
what  it  is,  and  to  come  out  of  it,  and  to  join  with  others  who 
shall  batter  down  that  dreadful  and  gigantic  superstition, 
having  seen  himself  the  secrets  of  the  prisonhouse,  and 
able  therefore  to  deal  with  them  as  they  deserve  to  be  dealt 
with.  And  let  us  try,  my  dear  friends,  wherever  we  have 
the  means,  by  such  Societies  as  that  *  for  which  your  chair- 
man appealed  so  powerfully  in  the  morning,  to  spread  these 
truths.  And  I  am  very  glad  that,  if  there  be  any  thing 
worth  publishing  in  what  I  have  said,  a  shorthand  writer  has 

*  British  Society  for  Promoting  the  Religious  Principles  of  the  Glorious 


DR.  Newman's  lectures.  591 

reported  these  Lectures,  and  they  will  soon  be  published  by 
a  bookseller  in  this  town.  And  if  any  one  contradict  these 
things,  I  hope  you  will  only  let  me  know,  and  I  shall  always 
hold  myself  in  readiness  to  come  here  and  support  them,  as 
the  words  of  reason,  of  truth,  and  of  Scripture.  And  let 
us  therefore  say,  that,  if  Pio  Nono  has  sent  his  Cardinal 
and  his  hierarchy  to  displace  and  to  dislodge  that  of  others, 
we  are  better  without  the  best  tidings  they  have  to  bring ; 
and  that  we  know  enough  of  our  own  precious  faith,  and 
feel  it  in  our  hearts  dearly  and  deeply  enough,  to  be  pre- 
pared at  all  hazards  to  maintain  it,  and  to  shrink  Avith  dis- 
dain and  scorn  from  a  superstition  so  vile,  so  unscriptural,  so 
unholy,  so  absurd,  and  anile,  —  for  such  I  must  call  it, —  as 
that  of  which  Dr.  Newman  is  the  infatuated  exponent. 
Let  us,  on  the  other  hand,  be  thankful  for  the  blessings  of 
our  reformed  faith.  Let  us  aid,  above  all,  the  circulation 
of  God's  holy  Word.  That  is  the  Book  that  Romanism 
dreads ;  that  is  the  Book  that  Dr.  Newman  does  not  meddle 
with  at  all ;  that  is  the  Book  that  he  dare  not  deal  with. 
He  will  bring  his  wares  to  candlelight,  but  not  to  the  sun- 
light of  the  Word  of  God,  for  there  he  knows  their  fallacies 
would  be  detected  —  there  he  knows  they  would  be  seen  to 
be  shams,  not  to  be  substantial  facts.  And,  my  dear  friends, 
learn  to  love  one  another ;  and,  as  I  told  you  when  I  last 
addressed  you,  in  all  good  works  that  you  can,  cooperate 
with  each  other.  We  have  a  real  unity :  we  only  need  to 
develop  it.  Rome  has  a  false  unity,  and  the  more  it  is 
known  the  less  it  will  be  seen  to  be  real.  And  let  us  all 
have  a  strong  pull  —  I  hope  it  will  not  be  a  long  pull  — 
together ;  and  by  God's  blessing,  a  thousand  promises  will 
converge,  and  unite  their  echoes  in  that  anthem  in  which 
angels  and  martyrs  around  the  throne  will  join,  "Babylon 
the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen !  "  And  if  there  should  be  any 
one  in  this  assembly  so  ill  informed  as  to  sympathize  with 
her  in  the  day  of  her  destruction,  such  sympathies  will  rush 


592  REVIEW    OF   DR.   NEWMAN'S    LECTURES. 

back  to  Bartholomew,  to  Smitlifield,  to  the  Marian  martyrs 
and  they  will  return  armed  with  indignation,  and  rejoice  t( 
join  in  the  cry,  "  Reward  her  as  she  has  rewarded  you 
Hallelujah !  Babylon  is  fallen,  and  the  Lord  God  Omnipo 
tf^nt  reigneth." 


1^*^^i^W 


ROMISH   MIRACLES." 


[In  the  collection  of  the  facts  in  the  following  Lecture,  Dr.  Curamings 
acknowledges  great  indebtedness  to  George  Finch,  Esq.,  of  Burly-on-the- 
HiU.] 

Before  I  commence  the  important  lecture  —  important 
I  mean  from  its  subject-matter  —  which  I  am  announced  to 
deliver,  I  wish  to  state,  that  in  any  thing  I  say  I  desire  to 
regard  and  to  express  myself  respecting  Dr.  Newman  him- 
self in  terms  of  real  and  unfeigned  respect.  I  have  no 
quarrel  with  him,  I  have  no  desire  to  depreciate  his  talents 
or  to  suspect  his  motives ;  but  I  have  a  quarrel,  a  solemn 
quarrel,  with  that  church  of  which  I  believe  him  to  be  the 
unliappy  victim :  whatever  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  say,  is 
meant  to  tell  against  the  claims  and  pretensions  of  what  I 
believe  to  be  the  great  Western  apostasy.  In  no  respect  do 
I  desire  to  speak  against  any  individual  priest  or  layman 
who  has  the  sad  unhappiness  to  belong  to  it. 

I  wish  also  to  observe,  that  Dr.  Newman,  in  those  extra- 
ordinary, and  subtle,  and  deceptive,  but  brilliant  lectures 
which  he  delivered,  "on  the  present  position  of  Catholics 
in  England,"  has  made  a  remark  which,  in  some  degree, 
suggested  my  delivering  this  lecture  in  Birmingham.  He 
says,  at  page  363,  "Think  a  moment:  what  is  it  to  me  what 
people  think  of  me   a  hundred  miles  off,  compared  with 

*  Delivered  in  the  Town  Hall,  Birmingham,  December  16, 1851,  —the 
Bight  Hon.  Lord  Calthorpe  in  the  chair. 
50* 


594  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

what  they  think  of  me  at  home  ?  It  is  nothing  to  me  what 
the  four  ends  of  the  world  think  of  me ;  I  care  nought  for 
the  British  empire  more  than  for  the  celestial,  in  this  mat- 
ter, provided  I  can  be  sure  what  Birmingham  thinks  of  me. 
The  question,  I  say,  is.  What  does  Birmingham  think  of 
me  ?  And  if  I  have  a  satisfactory  answer  to  that,  I  can 
bear  to  be  without  a  satisfactory  answer  about  any  other 
town  or  district  in  England."  Now,  I  am  come  to  en- 
deavor, not  to  make  Birmingham  think  worse  of  Dr.  New- 
man's moral  character,  but  much  worse  of  his  judgment, 
and  common  sense,  and  sanity,  in  accepting  the  miracles  of 
which  he  is  the  advocate  —  the  bold  and  unabashed  advo- 
cate. I  am  come  here,  if  I  may  presume  to  try  to  enlight^in 
so  highly  instructed  and  privileged  a  town,  to  give  Bir- 
mingham some  idea  of  the  nature  and  credibility  of  those 
miracles,  concerning  which  Dr.  Newman  in  this  volume 
says,  that  he  feels  no  impossibility  in  believing  them,  or 
rather  that  he  finds  it  impossible  to  doubt  them ;  while  on 
the  other  hand,  he  complains  bitterly  that  we  Protestants 
are  all  one-sided,  and  that  we  refuse  to  go  into  the  evidence 
of  innumerable  miracles,  which  he  holds  to  be  clearly  and 
conclusively  demonstrated.  In  order  that  you  may  have 
some  idea  what  these  are,  for  in  number  they  are  legion,  I 
will  read  another  passage  from  his  book.  At  page  284,  he 
says,  "  I  will  take,  then,  one  of  those  subjects  of  which  I 
spoke  in  the  opening  of  this  lecture  as  offensive  to  Protes- 
tants, viz.,  our  belief  in  the  miracles  wrought  by  the  relics 
and  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  which  has  given  both  occasion 
and  scope  to  so  many  reports  and  narratives  to  their  honor, 
true,  doubtful,  or  unfounded,  in  the  Catholic  Church.  1 
suppose  there  is  nothing  which  prejudices  us  more  in  the 
minds  of  Protestant^  of  all  classes  than  this  belief.  They 
inspect  our  churches,  or  they  attend  to  our  devotions,  or 
they  hear  our  sermons,  or  they  open  our  books,  or  they  read 
paragraphs  in  the  newspapers ;  and  it  is  one  and  the  same 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  595 

story  —  relics  and  miracles.  Such  a  belief,  such  a  claim, 
they  consider  a  self-evident  absurdity ;  they  are  too  indig- 
nant even  to  laugh ;  they  toss  the  book  from  them  in  the 
fulness  of  anger  and  contempt,  and  they  think  it  superjfluous 
to  make  one  remark  in  order  to  convict  us  of  audacious  im- 
posture, and  to  fix  upon  us  the  brand  of  indelible  shame.  I 
shall  show,  then,  that  this  strong  feeling  arises  simply  from 
their  assumption  of  a  first  principle,  which  ought  to  be 
proved,  if  they  would  be  honest  reasoners,  before  it  is  used 
to  our  disadvantage.  You  observe,  my  brothers,  we  are 
now  upon  a  question  of  controversy,  in  which  the  argument 
is  not  directly  about  fact.  This  is  what  I  noticed  in  the 
opening  of  this  lecture.  We  accuse  our  enemies  of  untruth 
in  most  cases ;  we  do  not  accuse  them,  on  the  whole,  of 
untruth  here.  I  know  it  is  very  difficult  for  prejudice  such 
as  this  to  open  its  mouth  at  all  without  some  misstatement 
or  exaggeration ;  still,  on  the  whole,  they  do  bear  true,  not 
false  witness  in  the  matter  of  miracles.  We  do  certainly 
abound,  we  are  exuberant,  we  overflow  with  stories  which 
cause  our  enemies,  from  no  fault  of  ours,  the  keenest  irrita- 
tion, and  kindle  in  them  the  most  lively  resentment  against 
us.  Certainly,  the  Catholic  Church,  from  east  to  west,  from 
north  to  south,  is,  according  to  our  conceptions,  hung  with 
miracles.  The  store  of  relics  is  inexhaustible ;  they  are 
multiplied  through  all  lands,  and-  each  particle  of  each  has 
in  it  at  least  a  dormant,  perhaps,  an  energetic  virtue  of 
supernatural  operation.  At  Rome  there  is  the  True  Cross, 
the  Crib  of  Bethlehem,  and  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter;  por- 
tions of  the  Crown  of  Thorns  are  kept  at  Paris ;  the  Holy 
Coat  is  shown  at  Treves ;  the  Windlngsheet  at  Turin :  at 
Monza,  the  iron  Crown  is  formed  out  of  a  nail  of  the  cross ; 
and  another  nail  is  claimed  for  the  Duomo  of  Milan ;  and 
pieces  of  our  Lady's  habit  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Escurial. 
The  Agnus  Dei,  blest  medals,  the  Scapula,  the  cord  of  St. 
Francis,  all  are  the  medium  of  divine  manifestations  and 


6$^  ROMISH    MIRACLES 

graces.  Crucifixes  have  bowed  the  head  to  the  suppliant, 
and  Madonnas  have  bent  their  eyes  upon  assembled  crowds. 
St.  Januarius's  blood  liquefies  periodically  at  Naples,  and 
St.  Winifred's  well  is  the  scene  of  wonders  even  in  an  un- 
believing country.  Women  are  marked  with  the  sacred 
stigmata;  blood  has  flowed  on  Fridays  from  their  five 
wounds,  and  their  heads  are  crowned  with  a  circle  of  lacera- 
tions. Relics  are  ever  touching  the  sick,  the  diseased,  the 
w^ounded,  sometimes  with  no  result  at  all,  at  other  times 
with  marked  and  undeniable  efficacy.  Who  has  not  heard 
of  the  abundant  favors  gained  by  the  intercession  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  of  the  marvellous  consequences  which 
have  attended  the  invocation  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua? 
These  phenomena  are  sometimes  reported  of  saints  in  their 
lifetime,  as  well  as  after  death,  especially  if  they  were  evan- 
gelists or  martyrs.  The  wild  beasts  crouched  before  their 
victims  in  the  Roman  amphitheatre ;  the  axe-man  was  una- 
ble to  sever  St.  Cecilia's  head  from  her  body,  and  St.  Peter 
elicited  a  spring  of  water  for  his  jailor's  baptism  in  the 
Mamertine.  Sir  Francis  Xavier  turned  salt  water  into 
fresh  for  five  hundred  travellers ;  St.  Raymond  was  trans- 
ported over  the  sea  on  his  cloak ;  St.  Andrew  shone  brightly 
in  the  dark ;  St.  Scholastica  gained  by  her  prayers  a  pour- 
ing rain ;  St.  Paul  was  fed  by  ravens ;  and  St.  Frances  saw 
her  guardian  angel.  I  need  not  continue  the  catalogue ;  it 
is  agreed  on  both  sides :  the  two  parties  join  issue  over  a 
fact ;  that  fact  is  the  claim  of  miracles  on  the  part  of  the 
Catholic  Church ;  it  is  the  Protestants'  charge,  and  it  is  our 
glory." 

Then,  at  page  298,  he  says,  "I  think  it  impossible  to 
withstand  the  evidence  which  is  brought  for  the  liquefaction 
of  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius  at  Naples,  and  for  the  motion 
of  the  eyes  of  the  pictures  of  the  Madonna  in  the  Roman 
States.  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  material  of  the  Lom- 
bard  Crown  at  Monza ;  and  I  do  not  see  why  the  Holy 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  697 

Coat  at  Treves  may  not  have  been  what  it  professes  to  be. 
I  firmly  believe  that  portions  of  the  True  Cross  are  at 
Rome  and  elsewhere,  that  the  Crib  of  Bethlehem  is  at 
Home,  and  the  bodies  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  also.  I 
believe  that  at  Rome  too  lies  St.  Stephen,  that  St.  Matthew 
lies  at  Salerno,  and  St.  Andrew  at  Amalfi.  I  firmly  believe 
that  the  relics  of  the  saints  are  doing  innumerable  miracles 
and  graces  daily,  and  that  it  needs  only  for  a  Catholic  to 
show  devotion  to  any  saint  in  order  to  receive  special  bene- 
fits from  his  intercession.  I  firmly  believe  that  saints  in 
their  lifetime  have  before  now  raised  the  dead  to  life,  crossed 
the  sea,  without  vessels,  multiplied  grain  and  bread,  cured 
incurable  diseases,  and  stopped  the  operations  of  the  laws 
of  the  universe  in  a  multitude  of  ways.  Many  men,  w^hen 
they  hear  an  educated  man  so  speak,  will  at  once  impute  the 
avowal  to  insanity,  or  to  an  idiosyncrasy,  or  to  imbecility  of 
mind,  or  to  decrepitude  of  powers,  or  to  fanaticism,  or  to 
hypocrisy.  They  have  a  right  to  say  so,  if  they  will ;  and 
we  have  a  right  to  ask  them  why  they  do  not  say  it  of  those 
who  bow  down  before  the  mystery  of  mysteries,  the  Divine 
Incarnation.  If  they  do  not  believe  this,  they  are  not  yet 
Protestants ;  if  they  do,  let  them  grant  that  He  who  has 
done  the  greater  may  do  the  less."  Such  is  Dr.  Newman's 
statement  on  the  subject  of  miracles. 

After  this,  I  refer  to  his  correspondence  with  the  Bishop 
of  Norwich,  which  correspondence  is  contained  in  a  Roman 
Catholic  periodical  called  the  "  Rambler,"  Part  xlviii.  for 
December,  1851,  with  remarks  upon  it  by  the  Editor  of  the 
publication.  I  shall  read  from  page  448 :  "  First,  let  us 
suppose  you  "  (the  Bishop  of  Norwich)  "  to  mean  by  *  credi- 
ble,' antecedently  probable,  or  likely  (yerisimile)  ;  and  you 
will  then  accuse  me  of  saying  that  the  ecclesiastical  mira- 
cles are  as  likely  as  those  of  Scripture.  What  is  there  ex- 
treme or  disgusting  in  such  a  statement,  whether  you  agree 
with  it  or  not  ?     I  certainly  do  think  that  the  ecclesiastical 


598  ROmSH   MIRACLES. 

miracles  are  as  credible,  in  this  sense,  as  the  Scripture  mira- 
cles ;  nay,  more  so,  because  they  come  after  Scripture ;  and 
Scripture  breaks  (as  it  were)  tlie  ice."  Now,  I  may  shortly 
state  in  connection  with  this  point,  before  proceeding  further, 
that  if  the  Scripture  miracles  be  true,  and  if  they  be  the 
credentials  of  definite  and  divine  doctrines  that  we  know 
therefore  to  be  true,  the  miracles  alleged  to  have  been  per- 
formed by  the  priests  and  others  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
are  the  credentials  of  doctrines  totally  opposed  to  those  of 
Scripture.  Both  categories  of  doctrines  cannot  be  true. 
If,  therefore,  the  miracles  of  Scripture  be  by  God,  and  the 
doctrines  they  substantiate  be  from  Him,  then  the  alleged 
miracles  of  Rome  must  be  impostures,  deceptions,  or  mis- 
takes, and  the  doctrines  that  they  are  adduced  to  authenti- 
cate must  be  false  and  spurious.  Both  cannot  be  true  — 
either  the  Scripture  miracles  or  the  Romish  miracles  must 
be  false;  because  they  authenticate  doctrines  which  are 
antagonistic  altogether  to  each  other.  Omnipotence  has  be- 
come in  Scripture  the  pedestal  of  truth,  it  cannot  be  in 
ecclesiastical  history  a  pedestal  of  error.  Dr.  Newman  pro- 
ceeds to  say,  "  Ecclesiastical  miracles  are  probable,  because 
Scripture  miracles  are  true.  As  to  the  former  of  the  two,  I 
say,  that  if  Protestants  are  surprised  at  my  having  no  dirffi- 
culty  in  believing  ecclesiastical  miracles,"  —  I  shall  show 
you  what  the  miracles  are  that  he  believes,  and  appeal  to 
your  inherent  common  sense,  your  innermost  intuitive  per- 
ceptions, if  there  be  not  at  least  some  difficulty  in  accepting 
those  miracles  as  the  works  of  God.  He  says :  "  If  Prot- 
estants are  surprised  at  my  having  no  difficulty  in  believing 
ecclesiastical  miracles,  I  have  a  right  to  ask  them  why  they 
have  no  difficulty  in  believing  the  Incarnation."  I  am  sur- 
prised at  Dr.  Newman's  w^ant  of  logical  consistency  here. 
He  himself  asserts  that  he  believes  the  Incarnation  to  be 
true,  because  it  is  asserted  on  the  infallible  authority  of  an 
infallible  historian ;  but  he  admits  that  the  miracles  of  his 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  599 

church  are  asserted,  not  upon  the  infalHble  testimony  of 
infallible  men,  but  upon  the  fallible  testimony  of  fallible 
men:  and,  therefore,  the  Scripture  miracles,  on  his  own 
showing,  must  be  true ;  the  Romish  miracles,  even  at  this 
stage,  may  be  false.  The  Incarnation  is  worthy  of  God  — 
it  is  the  assertion  of  God  ;  Dr.  Newman's  miracles  are  un- 
worthy of  man.  He  says  again,  in  another  part  of  the 
page,  "  Do  you  understand  me  to  say  that  the  ecclesiastical 
miracles  come  to  us  on  as  gooii  proof  or  grounds  as  those  of 
Scripture  ?     If  so,  I  answer  distinctly,  I  have  said  no  such 

thing  anywhere the  whole  of  what  I  have  said  in  my 

recent  lecture  comes  to  this  —  that  Protestants  are  most 
inconsistent  and  one-sided  in  refusing  to  go  into  the  evidence 
for  ecclesiastical  miracles,  which,  on  the  first  blush  of  the 
matter,  are  not  stranger  than  those  miracles  of  Scripture 
which  they  happily  profess  to  admit."  Why,  I  have  ofi'ered 
before,  and  I  offer  again,  to  go  into  the  evidence  of  one  of 
the  miracles  that  he  cites,  namely,  the  liquefaction  of  the 
blood  of  St.  Januarius.  I  engage  to  go  to  Naples  at  my 
own  expense,  if  he  will  allow  me  to  take  a  chemist  with 
me,  and  if  he  will  get  permission  from  the  priests  to  submit 
to  our  analysis  the  substance  in  the  glass  that  liquefies,  as 
alleged,  periodically  —  and  then,  if  the  chemist  testifies  that 
it  is  what  Dr.  Newman  asserts,  and  that  it  liquefies  by  no 
human  process,  by  no  skilful  manipulation,  but  that,  purely 
by  a  miraculous  influence,  it  changes  its  consistency,  I  will 
accept  it.  Dr.  Newman  complains  that  we  will  not  go  into 
evidence,  whereas  I  am  waiting  to  go  into  evidence :  it  is 
Dr.  Newman  who  will  not  let  me  go  into  evidence. 

I  observe,  that  in  these  assertions  which  I  have  read 
from  Dr.  Newman's  lectures  and  correspondence,  he  states 
certain  miracles  which  must  be  facts,  or  they  must  be 
impositions,  deceptions,  and  falsehoods,  —  one  or  other 
they  must  be.  If  not  miracles,  they  are  delusi(ms  or 
impostures.     A  miracle   must  be   clear,  unequivocal,  and 


600  KOMISH    MIRACLES. 

unmistakable,  or  it  is  worthless.  It  is  adduced,  not 
as  a  truth,  but  as  a  witness  to  truth.  The  miracles 
of  Jesus  are  admitted  by  all ;  the  fact  that  they  were 
done  is  admitted  by  friend  and  foe.  The  Pharisees  tried  to 
show  that  his  miracles  were  done  by  Satanic  power,  but  the 
fact  of  the  miracles  themselves  they  scarcely  ever  doubted, 
disputed,  or  questioned ;  but  most  of  the  Romish  miracles 
are  not  admitted  as  such.  They  are  singularly  equivocal. 
I  do  not  think  that  God  designs  that  the  power  of  working 
miracles  should  continue  as  a  permanent  possession  and  pre- 
rogative in  his  Church.  But  in  this  Dr.  Newman  may  dif- 
fer from  me.  In  the  Old  Testament  miracles  occur  in 
clusters.  Some  great  epoch,  crisis,  or  central  era,  becomes 
the  pillar,  as  it  were,  around  which  the  miracles  cluster,  and 
at  which  they  are  specially  displayed  as  proofs  of  the  power, 
the  presence,  and  the  mission  of  God.  Miracles  in  Scrip- 
ture appear,  therefore,  on  momentous  occasions,  sparingly, 
not  profusely,  clearly  rare  and  ultimate  appeals.  They 
proclaim  the  advent  of  a  king,  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  dawn 
of  Christianity,  the  ministry  of  the  Messiah,  the  mission  of 
an  apostle  or  a  prophet.  But  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  miracles  come  like  showers  of  every-day  fireworks ; 
they  are  off-hand  exhibitions,  ceaseless  coruscations,  contin- 
ually displaying  themselves,  and  making  the  credulous  stare, 
not  sceptics  believe.  It  is  said  of  John  the  Baptist,  (John 
X.  41,)  that  he  did  no  miracle;  but  a  Roman  candidate  for 
canonization  could  not  be  canonized  unless  he  had  done  at 
least  four  miracles.  Now,  since  it  is  stated  that  John  the 
Baptist  did  no  miracles,  he  would  have  some  difficulty  as  a 
candidate  for  canonization.  He  at  least  presents  a  very 
remarkable  and  very  suggestive  contrast  to  the  innumerable 
miracle  workers  of  every  order  of  the  Church  of  Rome  who 
have  been  canonized.  In  fact,  Roman  Catholic  saints  radiate 
miracles  ;  they  speak  miracles  ;  they  cannot  stand  up  or  sit 
down  without  miracles  exploding  in  all  directions ;  —  won- 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  601 

ders  are  their  every-day  doings.     These  saints  seem,  when 
one  reads  the  process  of  canonization  —  and  I  say  it  not  as  Of 
piece  of  mere  amusement,  but  as  a  conclusion  fairly  drawn 
from  documentary  evidence,  which  I  shall  submit  to  you, 
-—like  highly-charged  jars  of  electricity:  contact  with  the^- 
world  at  any  point  of  time  was  the  signal  for  an  explosion 
of  sparks  and  flashes,  and  wonderful  miracles.     In  1  Corin- 
thians xiv.  22,  it  is  said,  "  Signs  are  for  them  that  believe^ 
not."  They  are  a  new  phasis  or  development  of  the  presence- 
of  God.     Being  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  document,  we- 
need  no  more  credentials.      But  now,  "if  they  believe  not' 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  would  they  be  persuaded  if 
one  rose  from  the  dead."     We  have  overpowering  proofs ; 
scepticism  now  is  of  the  heart,  not  the  head,  and  no  miracle  • 
can  cure  it.     I  say  sufficient  and  satisfactory  evidence  has 
been  given  of  the  truths  of  God's  holy  word.     It  is  the  • 
clearest  of  all  conclusions.     Unbelief  is  the  result  of  crimi- 
nal ignorance,  or  of  a  lodgement  in  the  heart,  not  of  insuffi- 
ciency of  evidence  submitted  to  the  judgment;  and  therefore 
it  would  not  be  removed  by  any  force  or  splendor  of  mirac-' 
ulous  power,  but  only  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God  influencing  the  human  heart  through  his  revealed- 
truth.     Jesus  demonstrated  his  Deity  and  his  mission  by 
showing  irresistible  supernatural  proofs  ;  they  were  conclu- 
sive.    Miracles  at  such  a  crisis  were  to  be  expected,  and' 
the  extant  documentary  and  historic  evidence  of  them  is. 
sufficient ;  in  fact,  both  friend  and  foe  are  adducible  as  wit- 
nesses to  them.     But  now  that  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 
has  emerged  from  below  the  horizon,  it  seems  natural  to  our- 
minds  that  miracles  should   be   withdrawn,  and  that  our 
attention,  instead  of  being  engaged  in  studying  the  creden- 
tials, the  mere  proofs,  and  witnesses  who  are  outside,  andv 
whose  testimony  has  been  embodied  in  the  verdict  of  alk 
humanity,  should  be  henceforth  fixed  upon  the  inner  giory- 
We  need  not  the  ceaseless  repetition  or  accumulation,  and) 
51 


602  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

study  of  what  is  now  beyond  disproof.  "We  need  not  addi- 
tional  evidence  that  the  Bible  is  true ;  we  need  now  to  with- 
draw from  the  outer  court  and  to  enter  the  inner.  \Ye 
long  to  look  within  and  be  satisfied.  We  desire  not  any 
more  diverting  discussions  outside ;  we  are  satisfied  with 
the  divine  origin  and  inspiration  of  Christianity  5  we  would 
now  enter  into  the  holy  place,  gaze  on  the  heavenly  glory, 
and  feed  upon  the  living  bread,  which  we  know,  and  which 
we  have  seen  demonstrated  to  be  within.  Hence,  continu- 
ous miracles,  were  such  the  case,  would  seem  to  me  to  tend 
to  detain  us  constantly  at  the  porch  of  the  sacred  temple, 
where  we  do  not  wish  to  tarry.  We  have  found  it;  the 
temple  rises  before  us  in  its  grandeur ;  we  have  no  doubt 
about  it ;  we  now  desire  to  enter  and  walk  amid  its  cham- 
bers, and  listen  to  its  eternal  harmonies,  and  share  in  its 
bountiful  provision.  I  have  found  the  Book  ;  miracles  have 
proved  it ;  omnipotent  power  is  the  pillar  that  upholds  it. 
I  cannot  spend  any  longer  time  gathering  additional  creden- 
tials to  prove  that  which  is  sujB&ciently  proved ;  I  want 
to  open  the  Book,  to  read  it,  mark,  learn,  and  inwardly 
digest  it,  and  thus  to  grow  thereby.  The  only  still  cumula- 
tive and  ceaseless  evidence  of  the  Bible  is  within  it.  Its 
promises  and  prophecies,  which  are  as  lights  in  a  dark 
place,  before  they  are  fulfilled,  are  daily  passing  into 
history,  and  in  their  brilliant  transit  reveal  the  inner 
inspiration. 

It  seems  to  me  also  impossible  to  compare  the  Scrip- 
ture miracles  with  the  Romish  without  an  intuitive  percep- 
tion of  the  gross  imposture  and  absurdity  of  the  latter. 
They  are  often  ludicrous,  occasionally  jesting,  sometimes 
grotesque ;  whereas  the  Scripture  miracles,  in  every 
instance,  are  solemn,  awfully  solemn.  Trench,  who  has 
written  upon  this  subject,  and  upon  whose  authority  I 
state  this  part,  has  referred  to  Tholuck's  account  of  the 
two    great    pillars    of   Jesuitism,  —  Ignatius    Loyola  and 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  G03 

Francis  Xavier.  Loyola  was  canonized  after  two  hundred 
miracles  were  believed  to  have  been  done  by  him ;  and  so 
stupendous  were  the  miracles  of  Ignatius  Loyola,  that  he 
seems  to  have  aspired  to  eclipse  the  miracles  of  our  blessed 
Lord  and  Saviour.  For  instance,  it  is  stated  by  Tholuck, 
as  quoted  by  Trench,  that  Christ  expelled  demons  by  a 
word,  Ignatius  by  a  letter;  Christ  walked  upon  the  sea 
once,  Ignatius  frequently  in  the  atmosphere  ;  Christ's  coun- 
tenance when  upon  Mount  Tabor  shone  with  supernatural 
lustre  once,  but  Ignatius  had  only  to  enter  a  dark  room,  and 
it  was  instantly  lighted  up  ;  Jesus  raised  three  persons  from 
the  dead,  but  Ignatius  raised  hundreds  from  the  dead.  But 
go  to  the  proof,  says  Tholuck,  and  what  is  the  result? 
Ribadeneira,  his  companion  and  scholar,  published  a  life  of 
Ignatius  in  1572,  that  is,  fifteen  years  after  his  death,  and  a 
new  edition,  enriched  with  every  available  testimony,  in 
1587,  that  is,  fifteen  years  after  his  death.  Now,  neither  in 
the  first  nor  second  edition  is  there  the  record  of  any  mira- 
cle performed  by  him.  On  the  contrary,'  this  biographer 
enters  into  an  explanation  of  the  reasons  why  it  pleased 
God  that  so  eminent  a  saint  should  have  done  no  miracle. 
Is  not  this  a  strong  presumptive  proof  that  the  miracles 
ascribed  to  him  afterwards  were  invented  for  a  purpose  ? 
They  were,  in  short,  pious  frauds,  "  lying  signs  and  won- 
ders." But  as  soon  as  a  rumor  spread  that,  for  the  glory 
of  the  Jesuits,  it  was  desirable  to  canonize  Ignatius,  Ribade- 
neira sent  forth  a  subsequent  life,  in  which  he  gives  an 
account  of  innumerable  miracles  done  by  Loyola. 

Now,  Dr.  Newman  says,  that  Romish  miracles  are  ante- 
cedently as  probable  as  the  Scripture  miracles ;  "  nay,  more 
so ;  because,"  he  says,  "  they  come  after  Scripture ;  and 
Scripture  breaks  (as  it  were)  the  ice."  He  says,  "  that  the 
history  of  the  ark  at  the  deluge  is  as  difficult  to  reason  as  a 
saint  floating  on  his  cloak."  Now,  Hume,  the  sceptic,  says, 
that  miracles  antecedently  are  improbable.     Dr.  Newman 


604  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

seems  to  me  practically  to  concur  with  him ;  for  he  says, 
that  the  antecedent  probability  of  Romish  miracles  depends 
upon  the  previous  facts  of  the  Scripture  miracles  "  breaking 
the  ice."  But  what  previous  miracles  render  those  of  Scrip- 
ture antecedently  probable  ?  He  makes  the  probability  of 
one  miracle  depend  on  the  fact  of  a  previous  miracle ;  he 
hangs  Romish  miracles  upon  Scripture  miracles  ;  but  on 
what  does  he  hang  the  Scripture  miracles?  what  "broke  the 
ice  "  for  them  ?  This  is  perilous,  not  to  say  sceptical  logic ; 
let  Dr.  Newman  take  care  lest  he  be  found  rowing  uncon- 
sciously and  unintentionally  in  the  same  boat  with  Hume 
and  his  followers. 

Now,  the  great  miracles  of  vScripture,  we  allege  first,  are 
possible  to  God  ;  secondly,  they  were  necessitated,  as  we  can 
see,  by  the  peculiar  crises  at  which  they  occurred;  thirdly,  they 
were  the  subject  of  distinct  prophecy,  and  they  accomplished 
great  and  beneficent  ends,  which  justified  the  suspension  for 
a  season  of  what  are  called  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature. 
Let  me  give  an 'instance.  The  floating  of  the  ark  upon  the 
waters  was  justified  by  the  necessity  of* the  occasion.  A 
seed  was  to  be  preserved  from  the  universal  Deluge ;  and 
as  far  as  human  means  could  go,  God  used  them,  and  only 
at  the  point  where  such  were  useless,  did  he  interpose 
miraculous  power ;  and  not  only  so,  but  this  fact  is  recorded 
by  an  infallible  pen.  It  is  thus  placed  beyond  cavil  or  sus- 
picion. But  what  reason  equal  to  this  does  Dr.  Newman 
allege  for  the  story  of  a  saint  floating  on  his  cloak  ?  What 
adequate  occasion  was  there  for  such  a  fact  ?  What  crisis 
justified  it  ?  What  necessity  was  there  for  so  extraordinary 
and  so  hasty  a  transit  ?  And  besides  these  objections,  when 
comparing  it  with  the  Scripture  miracles,  there  is  another, 
arising  from  the  fallibility  of  the  narrator.  It  is  singularly 
legendary  —  if  not  monkish.  An  ark  floating  with  a  crew 
in  it  is  perfectly  natural,  easily  understood,  very  credible 
and  reasonable ;  a  saint  sailing  on  his  cloak  is  barely  con- 


KOMISH   MIRACLES.  605 

ceivable ;  at  least,  without  some  strong  justifying  crisis.  The 
one  seems  to  commend  itself  to  one's  mind  the  moment  one 
reads  it ;  the  mind  is  instantly  startled,  if  not  amused,  by  the 
alleged  occurrence  of  the  other.  But  however  improbable 
this  exploit  of  Dr.  Newman's  water-proof  saint  may  be,  if 
there  be  competent  and  satisfactory  evidence  of  it,  if,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  ark,  there  is  the  testimony  of  God  for  it, 
then  there  is  an  end  of  all  dispute.  But  Dr.  Newman  says, 
"  Protestants  are  most  inconsistent  and  one-sided  in  refusing 
to  go  into  the  evidence  for  ecclesiastical  miracles."  Really  it 
would  require  a  lifetime  to  go  into  a  tithe  of  the  miracles 
reputed  real  in  Rome.  Yet  it  is  he  who  will  not  let  us  go 
into  the  evidence  of  one  I  have  proposed.  Dr.  Newman 
asks.  Why  should  a  saint  floating  on  his  cloak  be  incredible  ? 
I  answer,  by  saying.  Why  should  it  be  credible  ?  It  is 
'prima  facie  absurd  ;  we  cannot  discover  a  cause,  an  end,  an 
occasion,  a  dignus  vindice  nodus.  The  onus  of  justification 
lies  on  him.  But  Dr.  Newman  must  excuse  us  if  we  are 
very  suspicious,  for  we  are  warned  in  God's  holy  word, 
against  "  lying  signs  and  wonders,"  as  a  characteristic  of  the 
"  Man  of  Sin ; "  we  are  told  that  if  we  should  hear  an 
angel  from  heaven  preach  any  other  Gospel  than  that  which 
we  have  received,  we  are  to  let  him  be  anathema ;  we  are 
told  that  Satan  may  be  transformed  into  an  angel  of  hght. 
This  makes  us  suspicious ;  and  Dr.  Newman  must  forgive 
us  if  we  hesitate  before  we  receive  as  the  credentials  of  God's 
truth,  or  the  achievements  of  Omnipotence,  the  sort  of  mira- 
cles which  he  quotes.  But  still,  let  me  add,  notwithstand- 
ing this  prima  facie  incredibility,  we  are  willing  to  go  into 
the  evidence  of  two  or  three  of  those  he  believes  in.  The 
more  I  study  the  miracles  of  Scripture  the  more  natural, 
credible,  and  necessary  they  seem.  The  more  I  investigate 
the  ecclesiastical  or  Romish  miracles,  the  less  credible,  neces- 
sary, and  antecedently  probable  they  seem.  If  I  go  into 
the  proofs  of  the  Scripture  miracles,  I  find  the  friends  and 
51* 


606  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

^foes  of  Jesus  bearing  witness  to  them.  If  I  go  into  the 
.proofs  of  the  Romish  miracles,  I  find  that  some  monk,  who 
•had  fasted  and  scourged  himself  to  a  skeleton,  thought  that 
.he  saw  some  remarkable  vision,  or  tells  us  that  he  did  some 
such  exploit  as  the  saints  Dr.  Newman  alludes  to ;  and, 
iperhaps,  a  grandson  of  a  monk  relates  his  grandfather's 
.secret.  Besides,  I  am  prepared  with  extracts  from  the 
highest  Roman  Catholic  authorities,  admitting  the  frauds 
ixnd  falsehoods  put  forward  as  prodigies  and  miracles.  Dr. 
.Newman  is  not  ignorant  that  some  of  the  most  eminent 
.members  of  his  church,  who  justify  his  belief  in  the  Romish 
.miracles,  admit  that  they  were  got  up  to  increase  the  piety 
'Of  the  faithful,  and  not  ho7iu  Jide  done.  The  great  Bishop 
Butler,  from  whom  quotations  have  been  made  so  very 
freely  on  this  subject,  says  most  justly  in  his  "Analogy," 
Part  ii.  c.  7 :  "  For  simple  things  of  this  sort  are  ea,sy  to 
be  accounted  for  after  parties  are  formed,  and  have  poAver  in 
-.their  hands ;  but  before  any  thing  of  this  kind,  for  a  few 
.persons,  and  those  of  the  lowest  rank,  all  at  once  to  bring 
over  such  great  numbers  to  a  new  religion,  and  get  it  to  be 
received  upon  the  particular  evidence  of  miracles  —  this  is 
>, quite  another  thing.  Let  us  see  miracles  where  Romanism 
:is  not  dominant,  that  is,  just  where  they  are  required.  Yet, 
.strange  enough,  Romish  miracles  occur  where  Romanism  is 
in  the  exclusive  ascendant,  rarely  where  an  argus-eyed  hos- 
itile  Protestant  Church  is  supreme.  Let  Dr.  Wiseman  and 
Dr.  Newman  transport  the  Oratory  from  Birmingham  to 
London,  and  let  us  see  it  on  its  journey  as  peasants  saw  the 
cchapel  of  Loretto.  Celsus,  Porphyry,  and  Julian,  the 
•deadly  foes  of  Christianity,  living  near  the  era  of  the 
.apostles,  admit  that  our  Lord  and  the  Twelve  did  miracles. 
L.need  not  say  that  all  the  ancient  fathers  testify  to  the  same 
-thing.  These  miracles,  thus  recorded  on  unimpeachable 
itestimony,  were  wrought  to  establish  the  divine  mission  of 
ithose  who  did  them,  as  in  the  case  of  Moses  before  Pharaoh, 
JElijah  before  the  people  halting  between  two  opinions :  and 


EOMISH   MIKACLES. 


G07 


Jesus  himself  said,  "  The  works  that  I  do,  they  bear  witness 
of  me,  that  I  came  from  God." 

But  I  said  that  certain  Romish  divines  give  a  very  ques- 
tionable support  to  the  sentiments  of  Dr.  Newman  with 
regard  to  these  alleged  miracles  I  will  give  you  a  few 
extracts  from  their  writings,  which  extracts  I  have  verified 
at  the  British  Museum.  Tostatus,  Bishop  of  Avila,  a  dis- 
tinguished Roman  Catholic  writer,  says  :  — 


"A  principio  autem  quando  Aaron 
miuistrare  incepit  nondum  fuerit  ali- 
quis  sumnius  sacerdos,  nee  minor, 
qui  sacrificia  fccisset:  ideo  ut  videre- 
tur  rainisterium  istud  a  Deo  appro- 
batum,  debuit  in  sua  origine  aliquo 
miraculo  confirmari,  quod  fuit,  veui- 
ente  igne  a  Domino  ad  cremandum 
sacrificia,  consecrato  et  ministrante 
Aaron.  Cum  autem  alii  sacerdotes 
consecrabantur,  erat  jam  confirma- 
tnm  sacerdotale  ministcrium  a  prin- 
cipio in  Aaron:  ideo  non  oportebat, 
ut  iterum  approbaretur,  in  eis  facto 
aliquo  miraculo.  Sic  autem  est  de 
miraculis  factis  in  lege  nova;  nam  a 
principio  in  Ecclesia  primitiva,  ipsi 
qui  convertebantur  faciebant  rairac- 
ula,  et  in  ipsa  sua  conversione  ap 
parebant  aliqua  slgna,  et  super  ip- 
Bos  qui  baptizabantur  apparebat 
Spiritus  Sanctus  descendens  in  co- 

lumboj  specie Nunc  autem 

miracula  non  fiunt  in  conversis,  nee 
Spiritus  Sanctus  descendere  videtur 
super  baptizatos,  sicut  tunc  videba- 

tur Causa  enim  est  quoniam 

in  principio  non  erat  fides  evangel- 
ica  consolidata  in  mentibus  creden- 
tium.  Sicut  nunc,  et  pauci  in 
Christum  credebant.  Ut  ergo  ha- 
beretur  aliquid,  per  quod  converte- 
retur  gens  ad  Christum."  .  .  . — Alph. 
Tostat.  Comment  Levit.  fol.  78,  Ve- 
net.  1596. 


"But  from  the  beginning  when 
Aaron  began  to  minister  there  v;as 
no  chief  priest  or  inferior  priest  who 
could  have  performed  sacrifices, 
therefore  in  order  that  that  ministry- 
might  appear  approved  of  God,  it 
ought  at  its  origin  to  have  been 
confirmed  by  some  miracle,  which 
took  place  by  fire  coming  from  the 
Lord  to  burn  the  sacrifices,  Aaron 
being  consecrated  and  ofliciating. 
But  when  other  priests  were  conse- 
crated the  sacerdotal  office  was  al- 
ready confirmed  from  the  beginning 
in  Aaron,  therefore  it  was  not  nec- 
essary that  it  should  be  again  con- 
firmed by  any  miracle.  So  it  is 
with  miracles  in  the  new  law."  .  .  . 


"  Xow,  however,  miracles  are  not 
done  among  the  converted,  nor  is 
the  Holy  Spirit  seen  to  descend  upon 
the  baptized,  as  he  was  once  seen." 


608 


R03IISH   MIRACLES. 


And  again,  upon  Matthew,  ch.  iii.  912,  he  says :  — 


"  Li  nobis  autem  nullum  miracu- 
lum  petendum  est  ad  credendum,  et 
qui  peteret  incredulus  diceretur,  eo 
quod  nos  babemus  jam  causas  man- 
ifestissimas  ad  credendum,  etiam 
nullo  miraculo  apparente  .  .  .  iUi- 
citum  esset  petere  plura  miracula ! 
Cum  unum  miraculum  ita  probet 

sicut  decern  millia.' '  — Id. 

Com.  in  Matt.  fol.  164,  Venet.  1596. 

"  Quoeretur  quare  nunc  proedica- 
tores  nostri,  et  prjBlati  ecclesise,  qui 
gerunt  vicem  Apostolorum,  non  fa- 

ciunt  talia  miracula ideo, 

Cbristus  non  dat  ilia  dona,  nisi  quan- 
do  sunt  ecclesiiE  necessaria,  vel  mul- 
tum  utilia:  nunc  vero  potestas  fa- 
ciendi  miracula  in  pradicatoribus 
fidei  non  est  necessaria,  nee  eccle- 
sias  utilis,  ideo  non  confertur  .... 
Si  autem  sintpagani,  possent  mirac- 
ula ad  eorum  conversionem  profl- 
cere,  non  tamen  concedit  Christus 
omnibus  pr^edicantibus  inter  infi- 
deles  miracula  facere;  quod  forte 
accidit  ex  demeritis  eorum,  vel  nos 
iris,  qui  indigni  sumus  ut  tempori- 
bus  nostris  Deus  tanta  bona  eccIesi^B 

concedat Sed  verius  dicen 

dum  est  hoc  accidere,  quia  non  est 
nunc  necessaria  conversio  infidelium 
sicut  in  ecclesia  primitiva,  quando 
pauci  erant  ...  Si  tamen  Deus  in- 
terdum  judicat  bonum  esse  aliquam 
gentem  convert!  ad  fidem,  donat 
prsedicatoribus  virtutem  faciendi 
miracula  ....  regulariter  tamen 
non  fit,  quia  non  est.  Nunc  tam 
necessaria  conversio  infidelium,  si- 
cut Glim."  -^  Id.  fol.  224,  225. 


"  Now  the  gift  of  miracles  is  nei- 
ther profitable  nor  useful,  because 
we  have  ai-guments  enough  to  per 
suade  us  to  believe  without  it.  It 
would  be  unlawful  to  ask  for  addi- 
tional miracles.  Since  one  miracle 
proves  as  conclusively  as  ten  thou- 
sand." 


"It  may  be  asked,  why  our 
preachers  and  prelates,  who  are  the 
successors  of  the  apostles,  do  no 
such  miracles?  ....  Christ  does 
not  give  those  gifts  unless  when 
necessary  to  the  Chui'ch,  and  very 
useful."  .... 


"  If  God  judges  it  good  that  some 
nations  should  be  converted  to  the 
faith,  he  gives  to  the  preachers  the 
power  of  doing  mii-acles,  but  ordi- 
narily it  does  not  happen  because  it 
is  not." 


Fisher,   Bishop   of    Rochester,  says  in  liis  answer  to 
Luther,  c.  10,  s.  4 ;  — 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


609 


"  Ceterum  ut  confirmetur  illud 
quod  dicimus  .  .  .  adjiciam  exem- 
plum  aliud  .  .  .  Ego  vero  jam  alia 
verba  Christi  producarn,  in  quibus 
prseter  factum  et  mandatum,  adjici- 
tur  et  tertius,  ncmpe  promissio,  nee 
tunc  his  diebus  ullus  ex  eis  effectus 
sequitur  ....  Convocatis  autem 
Jesus  duodecim  dedit  illis  potesta- 
tem  et  auctoritatem  super  omnia 
demonia,  et  ut  morbos  sanarent. 
Ecce  jussum.  Jubetur  enim  apos- 
tolis,  ut  similia  faciant,  v.  Marcum, 
c.  xvi.  .  .  .  promissiones  videlicet, 
quam  certe  nuUus  his  diebus  effec- 
tus sortiri  dilucide  cemiraus  .... 
Sed  aiet  forte  quispiam,  Inanis  igi- 
tur  erit  promissio  Christi  ?  Nequa- 
quam.  Non  enim  voluit  Christus 
promissionem  hanc  efficaciam  ha- 
bere pei^petuam  sed  pro  tempore 
nascentis  et  adolescentis  Ecclesise 
.  .  .  enim  in  ipsis  ecclesiae  primor- 
diis,  vere  credentibus  ha^c  facta  sunt 
ad  corroborandam  Evangelii  fidem. 
At  postquam  fuerat  evangelica  doc- 
trina  per  totum  orbevi  usquequaque 
diffusa,  nihil  deinceps  cqms  fuit  ejus- 
modi  miraculis." — Defensio  RegiJB 
Asscrtionis  contra  Babylon.  Capt., 
per  Rev.  Patr.  Johan.  Roff.  Episcop. 
fol.  105,  106.  Colon.  1525. 


"For  in  the  beginning  of  the 
Church  these  miracles  were  done 
by  believers  to  confirm  the  faith  of 
the  Gospel.  But  after  the  evangelic 
doctrine  was  diffused  all  over  the 
world  there  was  no  more  need  of 
such  miracles." 


Stillingfleet,  in  his  able  work  on  Popery,  has  adduced 
numerous  proofs  of  miraculous  frauds  and  impostures,  sanc- 
tioned by  high  authority  in  the  Romish  Church,  to  some  of 
which  I  will  by  and  by  allude. 

Many  of  the  Romish  miracles  need  not  to  be  attributed  to 
fraud,  they  were  many  of  them  facts  which  seemed  super- 
natural to  ignorant  monks  and  fanatics,  but  which,  in  the 
progress  of  education  and  under  the  influence  of  pure  relig- 
ion, are  easily  explicable  phenomena.    A  dreamy  imagina- 


610  KOMISn   MIRACLES. 

tion  feeding  on  the  fables  of  a  superstitious  era,  and  seeing 
things  through  its  own  hazy  and  distorting  medium,  magni- 
fied unusual  into  supernatural  occurrences,  and  facts  unac- 
countable to  it  into  interpositions  of  a  supernatural  power. 
A  somewhat  parallel  case  is  found  in  the  unknown  tongues 
professed  by  some  of  the  followers  of  the  late  Edward 
Irving.  I  do  not  believe  that  these  persons,  professing  to 
speak  strange  tongues,  were  wilful  impostors.  They  lived 
in  an  atmosphere  of  fanaticism.  Like  Dr.  Newman,  they 
held  there  should  be  miracles  in  the  Church,  and  so  imposed 
upon  their  own  minds,  that  they  believed  their  attempts  suc- 
ceeded in  making  the  possible  actual,  and  what  should  be, 
actually  to  be :  and  ultimately  they  imagined  that  the  gib- 
berish of  an  extreme  excitement  was  the  gift  of  speaking 
in  unknown  and  miraculous  tongues.  We  may  thus,  in  the 
exercise  of  Christian  charity,  attribute  many  of  the  Romish 
miracles  to  guiltless  delusion,  ignorance,  or  mistake.  And 
when  the  saintly  exploits  of  one  century  were  handed  down 
to  the  monks  of  the  next,  or  when  the  report  of  the  won- 
derful occurrence  in  Rome  passed  over  to  France,  Dr.  New- 
man knows  too  well  the  expansive  and  cumulative  force  of 
tradition,  not  to  be  aware  that  supposed  supernatural  deeds 
grow  in  portentousness  by  travelling,  and  would  appear  the 
more  miraculous  from  the  descriptions  of  the  narrators. 
Thus,  the  ordinary  was  magnified  into  the  extraordinary, 
the  strange  into  the  miraculous,  and  the  appetite  grew  as  it 
was  fed.  We  feel  disposed  to  pity  the  blind  credulity  of 
mediaeval  monks,  but  we  can  scarcely  extend  the  same  in- 
dulgence to  so  well-read  and  talented  a  man  as  Dr.  New- 
man. 

But  we  cannot  allow  that*  all  the  narrators  of  Romish 
miracles  were  ignorant  or  deceived.  Dr.  Newman  must 
know,  because  high  authorities  in  his  Church  confess  it,  that 
not  a  few  were  pious  frauds,  wilful  impositions  on  the  cre- 
dulity of  the  people,  in  order,  as  pretended,  to  increase  their 


KOMISH   MIRACLES. 


611 


pietj.  This  is  asserted  by  Ludovicus  Yives,  and,  as  Dr. 
Newman  requires  it,  I  have  verified  the  extract  I  now  give. 
It  is  high  Roman  Catholic  testimony :  — 


"Nam  quoe  de  iis  sunt  scripta 
prjEter  pauca  quajdam,  multis  sunt 
commentis  foedata,  duin  qui  scribit 
affectui  suo  indulget  et  non  quaj  egit 
divus,  sed  quas  ille  egisse  eum  vel- 
let,  exponitur;  ut  vitam  dictet  ani- 
mus scribentis  non  veritatis.  Fuere 
qui  magn£B  pietatis  loco  ducerent 
mendacia  pro  rcligione  confingere, 
quod  et  periculosum  est  ne  veris 
adimatur  fides  propter  falsa,  et 
mininie  necessaria."  —  Lud.  Yives. 
Opera,  torn.  i.  p.  511.    Basil,  1555. 


"  The  lives  of  the  saints  are  for 
the  most  part  corrupted  with  abun- 
dance of  lies,  while  the  writer  in- 
dulges his  own  passion,  and  sets 
down,  not  what  the  saint  did,  but 
what  he  would  have  him  to  do;  so 
that  in  their  lives  we  see  the  mind 
of  the  writer,  and  not  the  truth. 
For  there  were  those  who  thought 
it  a  piece  of  piety  to  tell  lies  for 
religion,  which  is  a  very  dangerous 
thing,  lest  the  true  be  rejected  on 
account  of  the  false." 


Now  this  is  the  testimony  of  one  of  Dr.  Newman's  own 
friends.  Melchior  Canus,  another  Roman  Catholic  writer, 
well  known  to  Dr.  Newman,  and  to  all  who  have  attended 
to  this  controversy,  says :  — 


"  Dolenter  hoc  dico  potius  quam 
contumeliose :  multo  a  Laertio  seve- 
rius  vitas  Philosophorum  scriptas 
quam  a  Chrisdanis  vitas  sanctorum: 
longequo  iucorruptius  et  integrius 
Suetonium  res  Coesarum  exposuisse 
quam  exposuerint  Catholici,  non  res 
dico  imperatorum,  sed  martyrum, 
virginum,  et  confessorum.  ...  to- 
tamque  eorum  narrationem  inven- 
tam  esse,  aut  ad  quaestura,  aut  ad 
errorem,  quorum  alterum  foedum 
est,  alterum  pcrniciosum.  .  .  .  Men- 
daci  quippe  homini,  ne  verum  qui- 
dem  credere  solemus.  .  .  .  Nee  ego 
hie  libri  illius  auctorem  excuse,  qui 
Speculum  Exemjilorum  inscribitur: 
nee  historioe  etiam  ejus,  quae  Le- 
genda,  Aurea  nominatur.  .  .  .  Nam 
et  indulgent  ingeniomm  suorum  vo- 
luptati,  vulgoque  interdum   iudul- 


"I  grieve  to  state  that  the  lives 
of  the  philosophers  are  more  ex- 
actly written  by  Laertius  than  the 
lives  of  the  saints  by  Clmstians; 
and  Suetonius  has  narrated  the  acts 
of  the  Caesars  with  greater  honesty 
and  integrity  than  the  Catholics 
have  done  the  acts  of  the  martyrs; 
and  that  all  their  narratives  Avere 
got  up  for  gain  or  out  of  mistake ; 
in  the  one  case  disgraceful,  in  the 
other  injurious. 


They  took  great  liberty  to  them- 
selves, or  yielded  often  to  the  de- 
sires  of    the   people,    whom   they 


612 


ROMISH    MIRACLES. 


geiit.  .  .  .  quod  vulgus  sentiebant 
non  tantum  ea  facile  miracula  cre- 
dere, sed  irapense  etiam  flagitare." 
— Melch.  Can.  Oper.  torn.  ii.  pp. 
104-112.    Madrid,  1764. 


found  not  only  ready  to  believe 
these  miracles,  but  fond  and  greedy 
of  them.  Therefore,  they  reported 
some  signs  and  miracles,  not  be- 
cause they  deliberately  believed 
them  themselves,  but  because  they 
would  not  be  wanting  to  the  pious 
desire  of  the 


"  QujB  ego  eadem  de  Beda  atque 
Gregorio  jure  fortasse  ac  vere  dicere 
possum.  Quorum  ille  in  historia 
Anglorum,  Jdc  in  dialogis,  quaedam 
miracula  scribunt  vulgo  j  aetata  et 
credita,  quae  hujus  pra^sertim  sceculi 
Aristarchi  incerta  esse  censebunt." 
—  Id.  pp.  112,  113. 

"  Fratrem  Franciscum  Victoria, 
Lector  optime  ....  solitura  dicere 
audivi,  postquara  ab  illlus  schola 
discessi,  se  ingenio  meo  quidem 
egregie  delectari."  — Id.  p.  125. 

Again,  Peter  Damiaii  says :  — 


"KonnuUi  enim  Deo  se  deferre 
existimant,  si  in  extollendis  sancto- 
rum virtutibus  mendacium  fingant 
Hi  nimirum  ignorantes  Deum  nostro 
non  egere  mendacio,  relicta  veri- 
tate."  —  Op.  omn.  P.  Damiaui  Card, 
tom.  ii.  p.  206.    Paris.    1743. 

"NonnuUi  enim  Deo  se  deferre 
existimant,  si  ad  deferenda  laudis 
ejus  insignia,  folsitatis  argumenta 
componant,  qui  nimirum  si  egregii 
prsedicatoris  verba  diligenter  at- 
tenderent,  talia  non  sentirent."  [1 
Cor.  iii.]  —  Id.  p.  202,  (Vit.  S. 
Mauri.) 

"  Quoniam  qui  vel  Deum,  vel  Dei 
Bervum  mirabile  quid  fecisse  confin- 
git,  non  modo  fabricati  preeconii 
prsemium  non  meretur,  vcrum  etiara 
adversus  eum  quem  laudaverat  fal- 
sum  testimonium  protulisse  convin- 
citur.— Id.  p.  235,  (Vit.  Dom.) 


"There  were  some  who  thought 
they  honored  God  by  making  lies, 
to  extol  the  virtues  of  his  saints." 


"  Some  thought  they  honored 
God,  if,  in  order  to  give  him  praise, 
they  drew  up  lying  legends." 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


613 


Jolin  Gerson  says :  — 


"...  Ecspicit  autem  iste  gradus, 
legendas,  et  miracula  sanctorum,  vi- 
tas patrum,  visiones  devotarum  per- 
sonarum,  recitationes,  et  opiniones 
sacrorum  doctorum ;  quaj  omnia  sus- 
cipit  ecclesia  et  legi  permittit;  non 
quod  determinet  talia  de  necessitate 
salutis  esse  credenda,  sed  quia  pro- 
ficiunt  ad  commovendos  afifectus 
pios  fideliiim,  et  in  oedificationibus 
ipsorum:  dum  in  talibus  nihil  de 
certitudine  scitur  esse  falsum,  quam- 
vis  etiara  nesciatur  illud  certitudi- 
naliter  esse  verum  quod  oportet,  nee 
ut  tale  credendum  proponitur,  ita, 
quod  raagis  hie  attenditur,  id  quam 
pia  recognitions  fieri  potuit,  quam 
illud  quod  factum  est." — I.  Ger- 
sonii  Opera,  tom.  i.  pars  i.  p.  416. 
Paris.  1606. 

"...  Porro  domus  ilia,  in  qua 
de  Verbi  incarnatione  sanctissima 
Virgo  coclestem  accepit  imntium, 
adhuc  magno  miraculo  noii  tantuni 
Integra  perse verat,  sed  Angelorura 
ministerio  ab  infideliura  inanibus 
vindicata,  in  Dalmatiam  primum, 
inde  in  Italiam  translata  est^i.  in 
agi'um  Lauretanum  Piceni  provin- 
cise;  quod  perinsigne  ac  nobilissi- 
mum  vctustatis  monumentum  totus 
Clu'istianus  Catholicus  orbis  vene- 
ratur  ac  colit.  Nee  est  quod  quis 
de  re  gesta  dubitet,  qui  memoria 
repetat  illic  dictum  esse  ab  Angelo, 
non  esse  impossibile  apud  Deura 
omne  verbum."  —  Baron,  p.  33. 
Lucse,  1738. 


"  These  miracles  ai-e  not  proposed' 
by  the  Church  to  be  believed  as 
necessary  to  salvation,  but  because-- 
they  help  to  stir  up  the  pious  feel-  - 
ings  of  the  faithful,  and  are  for  their ' 
edification,  as  things  that  might  be 
done,  than  things  that  were  done. 
And  it  is  no  matter  if  some  things  ■ 
that  are  really  false  are  piously  be- 
lieved, so  that  they  be  not  believed . 
as  false,  or  known  to  be  so  at  the  • 
time." 


"  Besides,  that  house  in  which  the 
most  holy  Virgin  received  the  heav- 
enly messenger  of  the  incarnation 
is  not  only  preserved  whole  by  a- 
gi'eat  miracle,  but  was  saved  from, 
the  hands  of  the  unbelieving  by  the 
ministiy  of  angels,  and  was  borne 
by  them  first  to  Dalraatia,  then  to 
Italy,  at  Lorctto,  which  illustrious 
and  noble  monument  of  antiquity 
the  whole  Catholic  world  venerates 
and  worships.  Nor  can  there  be  any 
doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  that  be- 
lieve the  angelic  saying,  that  nothing  : 
is  impossible  with  God." 


Lyra,  quoted  by  Stillingfleet,  complains  "  of  the  frauds 
used  by  the  priests  in  the  churches,  to  make  the  people  be- 
lieve that  miracles  were  wrought."  —  In  c.  14,  Dan. 
52 


614 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


Cajetan  also  says :  "  The  argument  drawn  from  modern 
miracles  is  only  fit  'for  old  women."  —  Opusc.  Tract.  10,  de 
Concept.  B.  V.  ad  Leon.  10,  c.  5. 

Such  is  Roman  Catholic  testimony.  John  Launois,  a 
Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  says :  "  Instead  of  receiving 
thanks  from  many  for  laying  open  the  fables  and  impostures 
of  the  monks,  he  was  referred  to  Polybius,  who  determines 
that  all  allowance  should  be  made  for  those  writers  who 
invent  miracles  and  stories  to  keep  up  the  devotion  of  the 
people.  This  I  have  been  told  by  all  sorts  of  men  who 
pretended  hereby  to  secure  Christian  piety." 


"  They  judge  of  all  things  by  the 
absoluteness  of  God's  power,  and 
regard  not  the  things,  whether  done 
or  no,  as  long  as  they  might  be 
done.  A  false  religion  stands  in 
need  of  such  cheats  and  tricks  to 
support  it;  but  true  religion  wants 
no  such  helps;  the  moi-e  simple, 
pure,  and  innocent  it  is,  so  much 
the  greater  and  more  glorious :  it  is 
corrupted  when  it  has  any  thing  un- 
like itself  mixed  up  with  it."  .... 


"Nam  ut  quae  facta  sunt,  sic  et 
qu£e  non  facta,  omnia  divini  numinis 
potestate  metiuntur.  Et  quia  quce 
facta  non  sunt,  fieri  absolute  pos- 
sunt,  perinde  habent  ac  si  facta  es- 
sent,  et  qui  non  habent,  eos  calumni- 
antur,  et  omnia  sanctorum  acta  reji- 
cere  splendide  mcntinntur.  Cete- 
rum  quae  falsa  est  religio,  Polybii 
documentis  fuco  et  fallaciis  indiget 
ad  sui  conservationem :  quai  vera 
est  religio,  horum  nihil  exigit  ut  re- 
tineatur :  quo  simplicior  est,  purior 
ae  sincerior  ilHus  apparatus,  eo  mag- 
nificentior  et  augustior.  Corrumpi- 
tur,  Cum  habet  in  se  quicquam  ad-  * 

mistum  di^par  sui  ac  dissimile ;  cu- 
jusmodi  sunt  ilia  quas  sancti  Patres, 
Concilia,  veri  Theologi  admitti  no- 
lunt,  admissa  rescindi  volunt.  Qui 
de  Christiana  religione  aliter  sen- 
tiunt,  eam  ignorant.  Ex  vera  et  falsa 
religione  tertium  nescio  quid  con- 
flare  instituunt."  —  Joann.  Laun. 
Opusc.  pp.  482-483.  Paris.  1660, 

Launois  was  called  the  "  Banisher  of  saints."  "  He  has 
expelled,"  says  Rose,  "a  greater  number  of  saints  from 
Paradise  than  ten  Popes  have  canonized  !  " 

Guibert,  Abbot  of  Nogent  in  France,  who  lived  in  the 


EOMISH   MIRACLES.  615 

beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  gives  numerous  instances 
of  flagrant  frauds.  St.  Piron,  who,  he  says,  got  drunk  and 
was  drowned  in  a  well,  was  worshipped,  and  great  miracles 
ascribed  to  him.  (Guibert,  Abbas  de  Pignoribus  Sanctorum, 
lib.  i.  c.  1 ;  also  StiUingfl.  2d  Disc,  on  Popery,  p.  600.)  Now 
these,  recollect,  are  testimonies  taken  from  the  waitings  of 
Roman  Catholic  divines,  to  which  I  might  add  many  others, 
going  directly  in  the  teeth  of  the  statements  made  by  Dr. 
Newman,  and  proving,  or  at  least  alleging,  that  many  of 
those  miracles  which  he  believes  to  be  so  precious,  and  con- 
siders it  impossible  to  withstand  the  evidence  of,  were  got  up, 
as  things  that  might  be,  not  as  things  that  were,  not  to  prove 
the  truth,  but  to  promote  the  piety  of  the  common  people. 

Let  me  turn  now  to  one  of  these  alleged  miracles,  a  very 
celebrated  one,  called  the  miracle  of  St.  Januarius,  which  is 
one  of  Dr.  Newman's  strong  points ;  and  I  wish  you  to  look 
at  it,  and  to  hear  the  whole  history  of  it  as  I  will  now  give 
it  you.  Dr.  Newman  says,  "  Bring  before  the  Protestant 
the  largest  mass  of  evidence  and  testimony  in  proof  of  the 
miraculous  liqueftxction  of  St.  Januarius's  blood  at  Naples ; 
let  him  be  urged  by  witnesses  of  the  highest  character, 
chemists  of  the  first  fiime,  circumstances  the  most  favorable 
for  the  detection  of  imposture,  coincidences  and  confirmations 
the  most  close  and  minute,  and  indirect,  he  will  not  believe 
it."  (Lect.  on  Cath.  p.  288.)  Dr.  Newman  has  not  stated 
what  chemist  has  analyzed  the  blood,  nor  has  he  given  any 
reference  to  any  document  containing  the  results  of  that 
analysis ;  but  he  does  insinuate,  what  I  should  be  very  glad 
to  see,  that  there  has  been  such  an  analysis.  Let  me  extract 
first  Canon  Townsend's  account  of  this  miracle :  "  St.  Janu- 
arius is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of  this  city  of  Naples, 
and  to  have  been  Bishop  of  Beneventum.  Three  persons 
of  influence  in  the  Church  having  been  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned in  Puzzuoli,  by  order  of  the  Governor  of  Cam- 
pania, in  the  year  305,  were  visited  in  their  prison  by  tho 


616  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

Bishop  of  Beneventum.  For  this  offence,  St.  Januarius 
with  his  companions,  after  having  been  exposed  to  the  wild 
beasts,  which  refused  to  touch  them,  were  beheaded  at  Puz- 
zuoli.  His  relics,  his  head,  and  some  of  his  blood,  were 
removed  about  a  century  afterwards  to  Naples.  The  inter- 
cession of  the  saint  is  reputed  to  have  saved  his  native  city 
from  being  destroyed  by  lire  from  Vesuvius.  I  desire,  in 
those  instances  where  the  anti-papal  writers  impute  wilful 
falsehood  to  the  historians  who  relate  the  wonderful  deeds 
of  the  saints,  to  quote  only,  or  chiefly,  from  the  Papal 
authors  themselves,  that  my  impartiality  and  freedom  from 
prejudice  may  be  known  and  evident.-  The  blood  of  St. 
Januarius  is  preserved  in  a  rich  chapel,  called  the  Treasury. 
Mr.  Butler,  in  his  'Lives  of  the  Saints,'  imputes  the  preser- 
vation of  Naples  to  the  intercession  of  St.  Januarius ;  and 
Baronius,  the  distinguished  Papal  historian,  assures  us  that 
when  the  blood  approaches  the  head,  though  at  some  distance 
from  it,  as  if  impatient  of  the  delay  of  the  resurrection,  and 
conscious  that  it  is  near  the  fount  from  whence  it  sprung, 
and  to  which  it  is  desirous  to  return,  it  ceases  to  remain  in 
a  solid  state,  and  dissolves  and  bubbles  up,  to  the  great  ad 
miration  of  the  spectators.  Such  is  the  testimony  of  Ba- 
ronius, a  cardinal,  though  not  a  saint,  who  is  deemed  by 
many  to  be  deserving  of  every  credit.  Mr.  Newmann,  of 
Berlin,  on  the  contrary,  an  eminent  chemist,  is  said  to  have 
performed  the  miracle  of  the  liquefaction  of  indurated  blood 
with  all  the  circumstances  of  the  Neapolitan  experiment. 
In  the  following  extract  '  the  P — '  is  understood  to  be  the 
Prince  of  Salerno,  a  member  of  the  royal  family  of  Naples. 
The  ceremony  began  with  the  mass.  The  P —  was  not  at 
the  altar  during  this  service.  He  keeps  the  key  of  the 
relics.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  large  golden  key,  richly 
adorned  with  emeralds  and  other  jewels.  The  phial  in 
which  was  the  hardened  blood  was  placed  on  the  altar ;  the 
jewelled  bust  of  St.  Januarius,  adorned  with  a  most  valuable 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  617 

diamond  cross,  the  gift,  I  was  told,  of  Christina,  queen  of 
Spain,  was  placed  next  it.  We  distinctly  saw  a  hard,  solid, 
round,  dark  red  ball,  as  if  of  coagulated  blood,  move  from 
side  to  side  of  a  vessel  which  the  archbishop  held  up  to  the 
people.  The  hardness  continued.  The  prayers  continued. 
The  blood  did  not  melt.  A  Litany  was  begun,  in  which  the 
names  of  saints  were  repeated,  and  the  people  took  up  the 
chorus,  '  Ora  pro  nobis/  The  blood  remained  solid.  The 
accounts  given  by  so  many  writers  I  found  to  be  correct. 
The  people  began  to  scream,  to  shout,  and  to  raise  their 
voices  angrily  louder  and  louder.  A  French  lady,  belonging 
to  the  P — 's  party,  was  kneeling  close  to  us,  overpowered 
with  emotion,  and  bathed  in  tears.  She  turned  to  Mrs.  T. 
and  said,  *  Tell  me,  tell  me,  is  -the  good  God  angry  with  us 
still  ? '  She  trembled  with  agitation.  She  impatiently  called 
to  her  husband,  who  was  at  a  distance,  to  come  nearer.  *  Ve- 
nez  ici,  Henri ;  vous  ne  pouvez  pas  voir  la ; '  but  he  did  not 
move.  The  people  still  vociferated.  The  blood  did  not 
dissolve.  It  was  nearly  nine  o'clock.  The  P —  took  out 
his  watch.  He  looked  at  the  archbishop.  Whether  I  am 
right  in  my  opinion  or  conviction  that  he  looked  very  sig- 
nificantly, and  that  the  look  was  returned  with  equal  sig- 
nificance, I  cannot  so  positively  say  that  I  could  affirm  it 
upon  my  oath ;  but  the  watch  was  taken  out  and  a  look 
given ;  and  by  the  most  marvellous  coincidence  —  which 
renders  it  uncertain  whether  the  sympathy  of  the  blood 
towards  the  head,  mentioned  by  Cardinal  Baronius,  or  the 
chemical  solution  of  Mr.  Newmann  of  Berlin,  was  the  cause 
of  the  liquefaction  —  the  red  solid  mass  did  at  that  moment 
begin  to  melt.  I  had  up  to  this  instant  seen  the  hard  sub- 
stance move  from  side  to  side,  and  I  now  saw  the  same  sub- 
stance gradually  become  liquid,  and  flow  from  side  to  side. 
The  lady  near  us  was  mute  with  solemn  delight.  The 
screaming  of  the  people  ceased.  The  archbishop  passed 
the  glass  phial,  in  which  was  the  dissolved  substance,  to  the 
52* 


618  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

privileged  persons  who  had  been  admitted  within  the  rails  of 
the  altar.     The  lady  near  us,  with  many  others,  kissed  it 
\with  enthusiasm.     It  was  presented  to  Mrs.  Townsend,  who 
vput  it  from  her,  saying,  '  No,  no  !     Sono  Protestante  ! '    She 
-could  not  believe  as  her  neighbor  evidently  believed.     The 
tchemist  Newmann  would  have  been  credited  more  than  the 
theologian  Baronius.     It  was  talvcn  from  before  her  with  a 
gesticulation  which  implied  displeasure.  It  was  placed  before 
me.     I  could  not  kiss  the  phial.     I  looked  at  it  steadfastly 
and  earnestly.     It  was  removed,  I  think,  with  another  ges- 
ticulation, after  a  short  pause,  of  surprise  and  anger.     It 
was  handed  round  to  others,  and  I  believe  it  was  devoutly 
kissed  by  them  all.     When  it  was  taken  quite  round  the 
space  within  the  rails,  we  found  with  the  P — of  S — ,  that 
it  was  time  to  breakfast ;  and  the  same  early  performance 
of  the  miracle  permitted  us  both  to  proceed  to  our  meal. 
We  left  the  church  with  feelings  which  I  am  sure  are,  and 
must  be,  common  to  many  who  declare  themselves  to  be 
members  of  the  Church  of  Home.  I  will  indulge  in  no  excla- 
mations on  the  impossibility  of  believing  the  act  we  had 
■witnessed  to  be  indeed  miraculous.  I  pass  by  all  the  thoughts 
that  breathed  ray  horror,  and  all  the  words  that  burned  with 
indignation  at  the  system   which,  taking  away  the  Bible, 
land  still  claiming  to  be  pure  in  its  teaching,  and  Divine  in  its 
.authority,  affirms  that  the  Almighty  upholds,  by  useless,  yet 
by  ceaseless  miracles,  its  unscriptural  doctrines,  and  all  its 
insupportable  pretensions.     I  quote  the  words  of  the  author 
•of  the   '  Lives   of  the   Saints,'   the   zealous   defender   and 
.admirer  of  the  Church  of  Rome :   *  That  the  reputed  mira- 
•  cles  demand  no  other  assent  than  that  which  is  due  to  evi- 
'dence  on  which  they  rest.'     If  the  liquefaction  of  the  blood 
•of  St.  Januarius  can  be  resolved  into  a  chemical  process, 
there  can  be  no  justification,  as  there  is  no  necessity  for  the 
miracle." 

I  will  read  also  a  letter  I  received  from  Sir  Culling  Eard- 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  619 

ley,  who  was  recently  at  Naples,  in  wbich  he  says,  "  When 
I  was  in  Naples  in  1844,  I  witnessed  the  *  miracle'  of  the 
liquefaction  of  St.  Januarius's  blood.  I  expressed  to  the 
Marchese  di  Santa  Capita,  Intendente  of  the  Royal  Palace 
of  the  Caserta,  and  Royal  Commissioner  appointed  to  wit- 
ness the  miracle,  and  to  report  the  result  to  the  King  of 
Naples,  my  persuasion  that  the  miracle  was  a  fraud.  He 
introduced  me  to  the  Principe  Monte  Robini,  who  had  in 
some  way  or  other  the  management  of  the  ceremony,  and 
the  Prince  asked  me  what  experiment  would  satisfy  me.  I 
appointed  the  next  day  to  give  an  answer  (tbe  miracle  is 
repeated  several  days  running).  Tbe  Prince  met  me  ac- 
cordingly in  the  vestry,  and  again  asked  me  what  would 
satisfy  me.  I  said,  *  To  dispense  with  the  candle,  and  not 
to  move  the  phial.*  lie  replied,  *  that  the  Queen  was  there 
that  day  in  state,  but  that  probably  he  would  be  able  to  do 
it  to-morrow.'  I  waited  in  the  vestry  till  the  ceremony  was 
over,  to  know  if  the  test  would  be  applied  the  next  day. 
The  Prince  came  to  me  when  the  Queen  was  gone  (the 
miracle  having  been  performed),  and  I  asked  him  if  I  was 
to  come.  *  No,'  he  said,  *  he  had  consulted  the  priests,  and 
the  experiment,  if  it  gave  satisfaction  to  me,  would  not  sat- 
isfy the  people,'  (se  la  contenta  lei,  non  contenterehhe  el 
popolo).  I  am  certain  of  the  words,  and  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt  that  he  and  the  priests  knew  that  the  '  mira- 
cle '  would  be  a  failure.  For  any  other  particulars  I  refer 
you  to  my  MS.  Journal." 

First,  then,  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  collect,  St.  Januarius 
was  martyred  in  the  Amphitheatre  at  Pozzuoli.  Secondly, 
a  portion  of  his  reputed  blood  is  presented  in  a  glass  vial 
kept  in  the  cathedral,  under  the  altar  of  which  his  body  is 
buried,  his  skull  being  contained  in  a  glass  case.  Thirdly, 
on  the  glass  containing  the  blood  being  brought  near  to  the 
skull,  the  blood  that  was  indurated  before,  begins  sooner  or 
later  to  liquefy.     One  would  expect  that  the  eyes  of  the 


620 


KOMISH   MIRACLES. 


skull  would  wink,  and  the  mouth  open,  because  the  skull  ia 
the  natural  seat  of  intelligence ;  but  the  miracle  is  the 
greater,  inasmuch  as  the  material  blood  melts,  and  the  skull 
is  utterly  unaffected.  Many  of  the  families  in  Naples,  too, 
are  supposed  to  be  relatives  of  the  saint,  and  to  have  the 
blood  of  Januarius  in  their  veins,  and  are  called  "  Janua- 
rides ; "  and  on  any  of  them  being  introduced,  the  miracle 
is  more  speedily  accomplished.  In  a  work  printed  at  Naples, 
containing  a  calendar  of  the  saints  whose  offices  are  to  be 
said  in  the  City  and  Diocese  of  Naples,  I  find  the  following 
record  of  St.  Januarius.  It  is  entitled,  —  "Officia  sanc- 
torum patronum  quae  recitanda  sunt  in  civitate  et  dioecesi 
Neapolitana.    Neapoli,  1721.   Ex  typographia  Abatiana." 


"Beatus  Januarius  Prsesul  et 
Martyr  inclytus  extinxit  impetum 
ignis,  obturavit  ora  ferarum,  et  in 
occisione  gladdii  pro  Christo  mor- 
tuus  legitjmi  certaminis  coronam 
accepit."— P.  24. 


"  St.  Januarius,  an  illustrious 
Bishop  and  Martyr,  extinguished 
the  violence  of  fire,  stopped  the 
mouths  of  wild  beasts,  and  being 
slain  by  the  sword  for  Christ,  re- 
ceived the  crown  of  his  lawful  con- 
flict." 


"  Okatio: 
"  Deus,  qui  in  translatione  B.  Jan- 
uarii  Martyris  tui  atque  Pontificis, 
pretioso  nos  prcsidii  tui  pignore  lo- 
cupletastl,  qufesumus  ut  ipso  inter- 
cedente,  populuui  tuum  ab  omnibus 
periculis  emas,  ac  de  thesauris  tuis 
divitias  in  nos  ineffabihs  misericor- 
dijB  benignus  effundas.  Per  Chris- 
tum." 


" Prayer  : 
"  0  God,  who  in  the  translation 
of  thy  Martyr  and  Pontiff  St.  Jan- 
uarius, hast  enriched  us  with  the 
precious  pledge  of  thine  aid,  we  be- 
seech thee  through  his  intercession 
to  deliver  thy  people  from  all  dan- 
gers, and  that  out  of  thy  treasures 
thou  wouldst  graciously  pour  upon 
us  the  treasures  of  ineffable  mercy. 
Through  Christ." 


*'  Sexta  Lectio. 
"Vidit  hunc  sanguinem  horruit- 
que  diabolus,  recordatus  est  quippe 
alterius  sanguinis  Dominici.  Prop- 
ter ilium  sanguinem  hie  effluxit. 
Ex  quo  enim  Domini  latus  apertum 
est,  sexcenta  deinde  latera  eflbssa 
contueris." 


"  Sixth  Lesson. 
"  The  devil  saw  that  blood  and 
trembled  with  horror,  for  he  remem- 
bered that  other  blood  of  the  Lord. 

For  from  the  time  that  the 

Lord's  side  was  opened  you  beheld 
six  hundred  sides  laid  open." 


ROMISH    MIRACLES.  621 

Bishop  Douglas  also  gives  an  account  of  the  liquefaction 
of  this  blood,  and  proceeds  to  speculate  upon  it,  saying, 
"  The  liquefaction  of  St.  Januarius's  blood,  performed  an- 
nually at  Naples  on  the  festival  of  that  saint,  as  it  is  the 
most  celebrated  of  all  such  miracles  said  to  subsist  in  the 
Church,  deserves  to  be  taken  notice  of  by  me.  Now,  that  a 
substance  visibly  dry  and  solid,  having  the  appearance  of 
coagulated  blood,  inclosed  in  a  glass  hermetically  sealed, 
actually  does  melt  while  held  by  the  priest  in  his  hands,  and 
brought  near  to  the  saint's  head,  which  is  placed  on  the 
altar,  is  a  fact  which  thousands  of  spectators  are  eye-wit- 
nesses of  every  year.  But,  however  extraordinary  this 
may  seem,  to  suppose,  as  the  Neapolitans  do,  that  there  is 
any  miracle  in  the  case,  would  be  to  make  the  experiments 
of  the  natural  philosopher,  and  the  transmutations  of  the 
chemist  deserve  this  name,  as  some  of  them  are  far  more 
surprising  than  the  liquefaction  of  this  saint's  pretended 
blood."  — CnVmow  (Marsh's  edition),  pp.  133-138.  Addi- 
son, also,  saw  this  alleged  miracle,  and  calls  it  "  a  bungling 
imposture." 

Before  I  proceed  further  with  the  analysis  of  this  mira- 
cle, I  will  allude  to  the  effigy  of  St.  Januarius,  and  show 
that  not  only  is  his  blood  said  to  act  miraculously,  but  that 
his  wooden  ef^gy,  as  alleged,  is  inspired  with,  and  has  ex* 
hibited  some  of  the  virtues  of  the  original  miraculous  effi- 
cacy. The  following  account  is  taken  from  "Acta  Sti  Jan- 
uarii  Episcopi,  etc.,  martyrum,  Puteolis  in  Campania  felice 
commentario  et  notationibus  illustrata  a  Joanne  Stiltingo,  e 
societate  Jesu,  presbytero  theologo.  Ajitwerpioe,  1757;" 
p.  148. 

"  Venerandse  statuae  quam  ibidem  "  I  present  an  effigy  of  the  ven 

haberi  jam    dixi,  effigiem   scalpro  erable  statue,  which  I  have  said  is 

Neapolitano     expressam     exhibeo.  found  there,  carved  by  a  Neapolitan. 

Eruditi  collectores,  qui   earn   sub-  Learned  collectors,  who   have   in- 

miserunt,    existimant    antiquiorem  spected  it,  think  it  is  older  than 

esse  gemina  alia  Sancti  effigie,  infe-  another  twin  effigy  of  the  holy  man, 


622 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


rius  similiter  exhibenda.  Obser- 
vant autem  banc  Puteolis  summa 
religione  coli  in  coenobio  PP.  Ca- 
puchinorum 

"Mira  sunt  quae  de  naso  PP. 
Capuchini  nobis  narraverunt,  prout 
ea  ab  aliquot  scriptoribus  recentiori- 
bus  conscripta  sunt,  sed  nihil  de  his 
invenio  apud  antiquiores,  nee  apud 
prsecipuores  scriptores  prajteriti  sa- 
culi.  Ilorum  sane  sileiitium  imitari 
mallem,  si  id  bond  omnium  pace  U- 
ceret,  quam  de  popularibus  ejus- 
modi  traditionibus  plura  dicere.  Ne 
quis  tamen  conqueratur  de  mirabili- 
bus  istis,  qus3  in  apologia  quadam 
anni  1714  operose  defenduntur,  nolle 
me  curiosos  lectores  instruere,  ex 
vita  Hieronymi  a  S.  Anna  lib.  iii.  c. 
4,  transcribe  verba  tabellte,  quaj 
dim  fait  appensa;  'De  qua  scilicet 
statua  illud  admirandura  antiquis- 
sima  patrum  traditione  accepimus, 
quod  reciso  olim  atque  in  mare  pro- 
jecto  naso,  alterum  subinde  substi- 
tuentibus  piis  ac  devotis  viris,  nulla 
potuit  unquam  mixtura  adhserere, 
donee  interjecto  tempore  intus  pis- 
catorum  retia  semel  et  iterum  re- 
perto  naso,  nee  agnito,  tertio  demura 
pueri  voce  (an  vaticinio)  observatus, 
ubi  primum  capiti  est  applicatus, 
sine  temperatura,  sine  ligamine,  sine 
ferro  aut  alia  quopiam  artis  instru- 
mento,  ita  comraissus '  [qu.  commix- 
tus]  '  est,  ut  non  attractum  vi,  non 
aetate  longa  fatiscat.'  " 


likewise  exhibited  below.  They  ob- 
serve that  this  one  is  worshipped 
with  the  highest  veneration  at  Pute- 
oil  in  the  convent  of  the  Capuchin 
fathers. 

*•  The  Capuchin  fathers  have  re- 
lated some  miraculous  things  con- 
cerning his  nose,  according  as  they 
have  been  related  by  some  recent 
wx'iters ;  but  I  do  not  find  any  thing 
concerning  these  among  more  an- 
cient authors,  nor  among  the  princi- 
pal writers  of  past  times.  Cer- 
tainly I  should  prefer  rather  to  imi- 
tate their  silence,  were  it  laioful  con- 
sistent with  the  pacijication  oj'  allpar- 
ties,  than  to  say  more  about  these 
popular  traditions.  But  that  no  one 
may  complain  that  I  am  unwilling 
to  teach  the  curious  about  these 
wonders,  which  in  a  certain  apology 
of  the  year  1714  are  laboriously  de- 
fended, I  transcribe  from  the  hfe  of 
Jerome,  a  S.  Anna,  book  iii.  chap. 
4,  the  words  of  the  tablet  which 
was  once  hung  up,"  (in  a  church 
of  the  Coenobites,)  "  '  Concerning 
w^hich  statue  we  have  received  this 
wonderful  thing  from  the  most  an- 
cient traditions  of  the  Fathers,  that 
the  nose  of  the  saint  having  been 
cut  off  and  cast  into  the  sea,  on 
the  pious  and  devout  substituting 
another  nose,  they  were  unable  by 
any  mixture  to  make  it  adhere ;  till 
after  an  interval,  the  original  nose, 
being  once  and  again  discovered  in 
the  fishermen's  nets,  and  not  recog 
nized,  but  being  noticed  a  third  time 
by  the  voice  of  a  boy,  probably  in 
spired,  it  was  applied  to  the  head, 
and  without  cement,  or  ligature,  or 
iron,  or  any  other  artificial  instru- 
ment, it  was  so  consolidated  to  it 
that  it  yielded  neither  to  force,  not 
length  of  time.'  " 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  623 

Robinson's  patent  glue  cannot  have  been  discovered  about 
the  time  of  the  fishing  up  of  this  original  and  truly  miracu- 
lous nose. 

Now,  I  may  surely  say,  if  the  Jesuit  doubts  the  alleged 
fact  concerning  St.  Januarius's  nose,  as  he  docs,  it  cannot  be 
a  very  great  offence  in  us,  Protestants,  to  doubt  the  miracle 
of  St.  Januarius's  blood.  Both  rest  on  the  same  evidence, 
and  belong  to  the  same  category ;  and  one  wonders  how  Dr. 
Newman,  being  unable  to  resist  the  evidence  of  the  miracu- 
lous liquefaction  of  the  blood,  should  be  able  to  resist  the 
evidence  of  so  miraculous  a  nose  —  evidence  which  testifies 
that  the  artificial  nose,  made  expressly  for  the  statue  of  the 
saint,  failed  to  adhere,  as  if  very  unsatisfactory  to  him,  till 
the  original  nose  was  discovered,  which  miraculously,  and  as 
if  conscious  of  having  found  its  lawful  owner,  clung  to  the 
face,  and  resisted  all  endeavors  to  tear  it  away.  Medical 
men,  will  thus  learn  that  the  Tallicotian  operation  was  antici- 
pated many  centuries  ago.  This  is  not  a  Protestant,  but  a 
serious  Roman  Catholic  narrative. 

But  I  revert  to  the  saint's  blood,  and  in  doing  so,  I 
would  ask  the  following  questions :  Is  the  substance  in  the 
glass  blood  at  all  ?  To  ascertain  which  I  would  propose  to 
Dr.  Newman,  who  desires  us  to  go  into  evidence,  to  submit 
it  to  chemical  analysis.  This  is  a  sure  test.  It  is  easy  of 
application.  If  blood,  is  it  the  blood  of  a  human  being  ? 
Bishop  Burnett  says,  that  the  blood  of  a  duck  was  used  at 
the  Reformation  for  a  similar  purpose,  and  with  similar  pre- 
tensions, in  England.  In  the  third  place,  if  human  blood,  is 
it  the  blood  of  the  said  St.  Januarius,  and  of  no  one  else  ? 
Prove  it.  Fourthly,  does  it  liquefy  by  a  miracle  ?  or  by 
the  application  of  heat  ?  or  by  a  chemical  process  ?  or  by 
other  priestly  manipulation  ?  And,  lastly,  I  observe,  the 
exploit  is  so  easily  done,  that  strong  proof  seems  to  me 
to  be  required  to  lead  one  to  accept  it  as  miraculous.  In 
order  to  show  that  this  is  so,  I  will  attempt  to  perform  this 


G24  KOMISn   MIRACLES. 

alleged  miracle  in  your  presence.  I  have  had  a  glass  bottle 
made  as  nearly  like  the  original  as  possible.  The  mass 
of  substance  in  the  top  bulb  is  perfectly  solid ;  on  applying 
the  hand,  you  see,  it  very  soon  begins  to  melt.  (Dr.  Gum- 
ming here  displayed  the  fac-simile  of  the  Neapolitan  mira- 
cle.) Now,  I  will  tell  you  what  this  miracle  is.  It  is  a 
little  otto  of  roses  colored  with  dragon's  blood.  I  found  that 
otto  of  roses  became  solid  at  about  40°  or  ^2° ;  and  there- 
fore, after  it  has  been  reduced  to  that  temperature,  or  lower, 
and  thus  becomes  solid,  on  appljdng  the  heat  of  the  hand  to 
it  for  a  minute  it  liquefies.  You  thus  see  how  easily  this 
supposed  miraculous  feat  can  be  imitated,  and  how  necessary 
it  is,  therefore,  that  Dr.  Newman  should,  not  only  show  a 
red  liquid  passing  from  a  solid  into  a  liquid  state  in  a  glass, 
but  that  he  should  also  prove  that  that  liquid  is  blood,  and 
that  it  does  not  melt  by  any  hand  touching  it,  or  other  natural 
process,  but  by  a  sj^ecial  interposition  of  miraculous  power. 
I  find  in  Scripture  that  the  miracles  wrought  there  are 
most  of  them  the  pedestals  of  glorious  truths,  or  the  signs 
and  seals  of  a  divine  mission,  needing  from  its  novelty  the 
force  of  such  credentials ;  but,  I  ask  Dr.  Newman,  what 
truth  does  the  liquefaction  of  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius 
attest  ?  What  holy  or  confiding  emotions  does  it  awaken  ? 
Does  he  mean  to  say  it  is  intended  to  prove  that  we  ought 
to  invocate  St.  Januarius  as  a  saint,  and  give  him  such  wor- 
ship as  is  given  to  Romish  saints  ?  If  so,  I  answer,  showers 
of  miracles,  far  more  stupendous  in  aspect  than  any  thing  of 
this  kind,  would  never  convince  me  that  a  man  is  to  be 
invocated  as  a  dal^wv,  so  long  as  one  recorded  text  in  its  own 
majestic  accents  proclaims,  "  It  is  written.  Thou  shalt  wor- 
ship the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve." 
No  manifestation  of  power  is  equal  to  upset  a  declaration  of 
God's  truth.  Deeds  of  the  greatest  power  must  fall  before 
the  testimony  of  a  single  inspired  declaration  —  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord."     Were  an  angel  from  heaven  to  appear  in  this 


ROMISn   MIRACLES.  625 

Hall,  radiant  with  all  the  ineffable  splendors  of  the  blessed, 
and  were  he  to  raise  a  dead  man  by  his  word,  and  tell  me 
that  he  did  so  in  order  to  induce  me  to  believe  in  purgatory, 
transubstantiation,  or  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  of  the  mass, 
I  would  instantly  recollect,  while  I  beheld  the  miracle,  that 
"  some  shall  do  such  wonders,  that  if  it  were  possible,  they 
should  deceive  the  very  elect ; "  and  I  would  also  recollect 
that  "  Satan  himself  is  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light ; " 
and  I  would  say  to  such  a  miracle  worker  come  to  earth  to 
corroborate  such  a  doctrine,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  ; 
thou  savourest  not  of  the  things  that  be  of  God."  The 
whole  story  of  St.  Januarius  is  not  an  innocent  device,  or  a 
credulous  belief;  it  is  a  priestly  fraud,  a  "  lying  wonder ; " 
it  is  an  attempt  to  stamp  on  the  currency  of  Antichrist  the 
awful  Name  and  Image  and  Superscription  of  Jesus. 

Having  looked,  then,  at  this  miracle,  I  now  proceed  to 
present,  what  the  real  force  and  the  main  point  in  my  Lec- 
ture hinge  on, — extracts  from  documents  which  I  have 
no  doubt  are  found  in  the  library  at  Oscott,  namely,  the 
Breviary,  and  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  —  documents  with  which 
Dr.  Newman  is,  I  am  sure,  familiar.  I  will,  therefore,  sub- 
mit to  you  the  following  ecclesiastical  or  Romish  miracles, 
related  on  what  Dr.  Newman  holds  as  the  highest  ecclesias- 
tical authority,  and  I  will  ask  you  to  question  yourselves  at 
the  close  of  each,  —  Is  this  as  credible  in  any  sense  as  the 
miracles  recorded  in  the  word  of  God  ?  The  first  list  that 
I  will  give  you,  is  that  of  the  miracles  performed  by  Sta. 
Rosa  of  Lima,  who  was  canonized  by  Pope  Clement  X.  in 
the  year  1761.  "We  are  informed,  in  the  Romish  Breviary, 
Pars  Estiva,  Festa  Augusti,  August  30th,  that  she  owed 
her  name  to  her  face  when  an  infant  having  been  wonder- 
fully transfigured  into  the  appearance  of  a  rose.  "  Nam 
vultus  infantis  mirabiliter  in  rosae  effigiem  transfiguratus, 
huic  nomini  occasionem  dedit,  cui  Virgo  Deipara  cognomen 
adjecit,  jubens  vocari  demceps  Rosam  a  Sancta  Maria." 
53 


626 


ROMISH    MIRACLES. 


The  document  from  which  I  quote  them  is  the  "  Codex 
constitutionum  quas  Summi  Pontifices  ediderunt  in  solemni 
Canonizatione  Sanctorum  a  Johanne  XV.  ad  Benedictum 
XIII.,  sive  ab  a.d.  993  ad  a.d.  1729,  accurante  Justo 
Fontanino,  Archiepiscopo  Ancyrano.  Romae,  1729.  Ex 
typographia  Reverendas  Cameree  Apostolicee. — Imprimatur 
si  videbitur  Reverendissimo  Patri  Sacri  Palatii  magistro. 
N.  Baccarius  Episc.  Pojan.  Vicesg.  —  Imprimatur.  Fr.  Jo. 
Benedictus  Zuanelli  ordinis  praedicatorum,  Sacri  Palatii 
Apostolici  Magister." 


"  Clemens  Episcopus,  servus  ser- 
vorum  Dei,  ad  perpetuam  rei  me- 
moriam.  P.  402,  an.  1671. 
"  Coelestis  paterfamilias,  etc." 
"  Hinc  si  deprehenderet  de  virtu- 
tibus  se  tantillum  commendari,  cru- 
ciabatur  raisera,  expallescebat  dif- 
fluebat  lacrymis,  deliiscebat  illico, 
Be  mergere  in  abyssum  humilitatis. 
Accidit.  quod  e  vicino  Eedium  con- 
clavi  obiter  audiret  personas  graves 
de  Eos£e,tanquam  absentis,  mirabili 
vita  honorifice  ac  secrete  confabu- 
Jantes.  Expavit  et  contremuit  ex- 
sanguis  virgo,  angore,  fletu,  et  moe- 
rore  contabuit,  ac  seipsam  duris- 
sime  objurgans,  ter  quater  illisit 
pugnum  aculeatas  capitis  sui  coronge. 
Fiuxerunt  sub  velo  sanguinis  rivi, 
ut  acrimonia  doloris  ingi-atissimum 
alienjB  laudis  obtunderet  auditum." 
—  P.  405. 


"Erga  imagines  beatissimss  Vir- 


"  Clement,  Bishop,  servant  of  ser- 
vants, in  perpetual  memoiy  of  the 
thing." 

"  Hence,  if  she  detected  any  one 
praising  her  ever  so  little  for  her 
virtue,  she  being  grieved  at  it, 
would  torment  herself,  become  very 
pale,  overflow  with  tears,  and  would 
on  the  verj'-  spot  almost  split  with 
misery,  and  cast  herself  into  the 
very  depths  of  humility.  As  she 
was  on  her  way  one  day,  she  ap- 
proached the  vicinity  of  the  build- 
ings of  the  conclave,  and  she  heard 
some  grave  persons  talking  to  them- 
selves in  praise  of  the  wonderful 
life  of  Kosa,  supposing  she  was  not 
within  hearing.  The  virgin  was 
exeeedingly  frightened,  and  trem- 
bled with  horror;  she  pined  away 
with  terror,  weeping,  with  grief,  and 
rebuking  herself  very  severely,  she 
sti-uck  three  or  four  times  with  her 
fist  the  crown  of  thorns  on  hor 
head.  Streams  of  blood  flowed  un 
der  her  veil,  so  that  the  force  of  her 
sorrow  might  weaken  the  unwel- 
come sound,  hearing  another's  praise 
of  herself."  — P.  405. 

"  She  was  burning  with  wonderful 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


627 


ginis  miro  fervebat  devotionis  af- 
fectu,  et  maxime  circa  earn,  quas 
augustissimam  Rosarii  Reginam  ex- 
primit,  in  cujus  sacello  habitum  sui 
ordinis  suscipiens,  ploranti  Matri 
visa  fuit  blando  favore  Deiparse  in 
cceelum  elevari."  — P.  415. 


love  in  her  devotions  before  the 
images  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  and 
chiefly  around  that  which  repre- 
sents the  most  august  queen  of  the 
Rosary,  in  whose  chapel,  wearing 
the  dress  of  her  order,  she  appeared 
to  the  weeping  mother,  by  the  kind 
favor  of  the  mother  of  God,  raised 
toward  the  sky."  —  P.  415. 

"  The  Queen  of  Heaven  often  also 
stood  near  to  her  right  hand,  so  that 
from  the  twelfth  year  of  her  age  to 
her  last  moment  she  never  wanted 
this  precious  familiar  companionship. 
Also,  on  account  of  her  laborious 
services,  she  conversed  with  her  in 
the  Chapel  of  the  Rosary,  and  she 
deemed  this  her  servant  so  worthy 
of  this  honor,  that  she  exhibited  her 
services  to  the  chamber  attendant 
herself,  whilst  she  was  animating 
Rosa  with  these  words:  'Arise  to 
prayer,  my  daughter,  arise,  for  the 
time  is  at  hand.'  And  the  Virgin 
showed  herself  to  St.  Rosa,  on  rising 
face  to  face,  beautiful  in  majesty, 
and  a  Paradise  of  heavenly  glory, 
and  St.  Rosa  exclaimed,  like  another 
Elizabeth,  '  Whence  does  this  hap- 
pen to  me,  that  the  mother  of  my 
Lord  should  come  to  me ! '  " 

Her  intercourse  with  the  Saviour  was  frequent,  and  on 
one  occasion,  we  are  told  in  the  Roman  Breviary,  that  she 
deserved  to  hear  from  Christ  the  words,  "  Rose  of  my  heart, 
be  thou  my  bride."  (Brev.  Pars  iEstiva ;  Festa  Augusti, 
30tli  August.)  "  A  Christo  has  voces  audire  meruit,  *  Rosa 
cordis^  mei,  tu  mihi  sponsa  esto.' "  In  her  Bull  of  Canon- 
ization, p.  409,  we  learn  ; 

"  Inde  enim  amoris  ignes  in  corde  "  Afterwards,  too,  she  felt  the  fires 

sentiebat,  ut  ipse  Jesu  soepe  amanti  of  love  were  so  powerfully  in  her 

Rosa)  in  pagina;  planitie  apparuit,  heart,  that  Jesus  himself  often  ap- 

eique  suavi  obtutu  blandiebatur,  ut  peared  to  the  loving  Rosa  in  the 


"  Adstitit  etiam  soepe  Reginae  coeli 
a  dextei'is  ejus,  ita  ut  ab  undecimo 
aitatis  suae  anno  usque  ad  extremum 
non  defuerit  ei  hoc  pretiosum  famil- 
iaritatis  contubernium.  In  Rosari- 
ano  enim  Sacello  ex  sedulo  minis- 
terio  mutua  cum  ilia  erat  ei  conver- 
satio,  eoque  honore  banc  suam  fa- 
mulam  dignata  est,  ut  cubiculariae 
ipsi  exhibuerit  ministeria,  excitando 
earn  illis  vocibus ;  — '  Surge  ad  ora^ 
tionem,  filia,  surge,  nam  instat  hora. 
Illique  expen-ectoe  se  praebebat  vi- 
dendam  facie  ad  faciem,  majestate 
dccoram,  et  glorias  coelestis  Para- 
disum,  exclaraanti  cum  altera  Eliz- 
abeth, '  Unde  hoc  mihi,  ut  veniat 
Mater  Domini  mei  ad  me.'  "  — Ibid. 


628 


EOMISH    MIRACLES. 


page  of  her  book,  and  encour- 
aged her  with  such  a  sweet  look, 
that  the  word  of  such  a  soul  is 
most  worthy  of  attentive  perusal,  in 
which  are  all  the  treasures  of  tlie 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God;  so 
also  when  she  was  occupied  at  her 
needle-work,  Christ  often  quietly  sat 
upon  the  cushion,  and  spoke  to  the 
heart  of  this  beloved  one  with  silent 
nods,  and  with  every  gesture  openly 
declared  his  divine  love." 

"  She  was  also  seen  by  innocent 
virgins  to  tarry  with  Jesus  himself, 
and  sometimes  even  to  walk  about 
with  him,  and  to  hold  seci-et  conver- 
sation with  him  with  such  majesty, 
that  wherever  he  placed  his  foot  the 
pavement  shone  with  a  splendid 
light,  so  that  such  a  Rose  clang  to 
no  other  plant,  but  to  him  '  who  is 
the  flower  of  the  field,  and  the  hly 
of  the  valley.' " 
Recollect,  these  are  Romish  miracles,  not  described  by 
Protestants,  or  by  individual  and  obscure  monks,  but  by  the 
highest  Roman  Catholic  authority,  which  Dr.  Newman  has 
in  his  possession,  and  to  which  I  refer  him.  I  ask  of  this 
vast  audience  —  I  ask  of  Dr.  Newman,  Are  they  as  credible 
as  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  Word  of  God  ?  Are  they 
possible  ?  No ;  for  blasphemy  cannot  have  the  sanction  of 
God. 

Here  is  another  part  of  her  miraculous  history  :  - — 

"  Languens  et  sestuans  divini  amo-  "  Languishing  and  burning  with 
ris  ignibus,  in  nocte  orans  visa  fuit  the  fires  of  divine  love,  she  was 
ab    alia  virgine    magnis  luminibus    seen,  whilst  praying  in   the   night 


verbum  attenta  lectione  talis  animse 
dignissimum,  in  quo  sunt  omnes  the- 
sauri sapientisB  et  scientijB  Dei;  sic 
etiam  cum  occuparetur  in  telas  con- 
sutura,  pulvillo  ipsius  soepe  quietis- 
sime  insidebat,  et  ad  cor  hujus  di- 
lectse  tacitis  nutubus  loquebatur,  om- 
nique  gestu  divinum  protestabatur 
amorem." 


"Ab  innocentibus  virginibus  visa 
est  cum  ipso  Jesu  sistere,  quandoque 
etiam  deambulare,  et  seci-etissima 
miscere  colloquia  tali  cum  maj  estate, 
ut  quocunque  pedem  fixisset  ille, 
pavimentum  fulge.nti  lumine  splen- 
deret,  utque  talis  Rosa  nulli  alteri 
plantge  adheereret,  quantum  ei,  '  qui 
est  flos  campi,  et  lilium  convallium.'  " 
—  P.  411. 


coruscans  veluti  ignicuhs  peros  ocu- 
losque  evibratis,  protestantibus  quan- 
tum inccndium  intus  ferveret,  quod 
alias  pluries  ea  inscia  coram  diversis 
contigisse  innotuit."  — P.  413. 


time,  by  one  of  the  other  virgins,  glit- 
tering with  great  lights,  hke  small 
sparkles  of  fire,  vibrating  over  her 
mouth  and  eyes,  showing  forth  with 
what  force  the  internal  fire  burned, 
which  Avas  publicly  known  to  have 
happened  to  many  others,  who  were 
at  the  time  unconscious  of  it,  in  the 
presence  of  diflerent  persons." 


R0MI8H   MIRACLES. 


629 


Dr.  Newman's  authorities  say,  you  ©ee,  that  such  was  the 
intensity  of  her  inner  divine  love,  that  it  exploded  in  sparks 
of  light  from  her  eyes  and  mouth. 

How  can  Dr.  Newman  accept  such  puerilities  as  proofs 
of  Divine  power  ? 


"  At  another  time,  when  her  mind 
was  abstracted,  Jesus,  as  a  little 
child,  leaning  upon  his  most  pure 
mother's  arms,  came  to  her,  and 
softly  addressing  her,  ordered  her  to 
collect  into  the  folds  of  her  garments 
the  roses  which  were  scattered  on 
the  ground.  Thence  the  Divine 
infant  having  sought  and  gi-aciously 
accepted  one  of  them,  he  added, 
'Thou  art  this  rose.  I  take  upon 
myself  the  care  of  this;  dispose  of 
the  rest  as  you  will.'  She  learnt 
from  these  words  that  she  was  held 
in  the  right  hand  of  the  Saviour  as 
an  elect  Rose,  which  no  one  should 
ever  pluck  from  his  hand.  Twisting 
a  hasty  wreath  with  tliQ  rest  of  the 
roses,  she  placed  it  on  the  tremen- 
dous head  of  Jesus,  who,  smiling  on 
the  Virgin,  and  blessing  her,  disap- 
peared. She  knew  that  by  the  other 
roses  were  indicated  the  pious  Vir- 
gins of  Lima,  whom  it  was  necessary 
to  gather  after  her  death  into  the 
new  convent  of  St.  Catharine  of 
Sienna." 

In  the*   lext  place,  she  frequently  strove  with  devils,  as 
will  apperj"  from  the  following :  — 


"  Alias  in  mentis  excessu  adfuit 
illi  parvulus  Jesus,  purissimae  gene- 
tricis  ulnis  innixus,  eamque  blando 
alloquens,  jussit  sparsas  per  solum 
Rosas  in  sinuosoe  vestis  laciuiam 
coUigere.  Inde  diviuus  infans  una 
petita  et  gratanter  accepta  subia- 
tulit,  '  Hajc  Rosa  tu  es,  hujus  provi- 
dam  curam  mihi  assume,  tu  de  reli- 
quis,  ut  magis  volueris,  dispouito.' 
His  agnovit  se  teneri  in  dextera 
Salvatoris  velut  Rosam  electam, 
quam  non  raperet  quisquara  de 
manu  ejus.  De  reliquis  rosis  subi- 
taneum  sertum  contexens,  tremendo 
Jesu  capiti  impoouit,  qui  Virgini 
arridens  eamque  benedicens  dispa- 
ruit.  Ceteris  roois  indicari  novit 
pias  Virgines  Limenses,  quas  post 
suum  obitum  in  novellum  SanctjB 
Catharinas  Senfjnsis  monasterium 
coUigi  oportebai.»'  — P.  418. 


"  Luctabatur  enim  quam  frequen- 
tissime  cnm  dtemonibus,  multisque 
illorum  molestiis  vexabatur,  ex  qui- 
fcas  Bub  tetra  specie  molossi  unus 
Mm  orantera  latratu  horrisono  ter- 
frre,  et  rabido  morsu  per  solum  il- 
Itra  raptans  tentavit  discerpere,  do- 
liAC  clamavit  ad  sponsum,  '  Ne  tra- 
53* 


"  She  frequently  strove  with  devils, 
being  much  annoyed  by  them,  of 
whom  one  in  the  fonn  of  a  black 
mastiff  tried  to  terrify  her,  when  she 
was  praying,  by  his  horrisonous 
barking;  and  he  tried  to  tear  her  in 
pieces  with  his  savage  teeth,  as  he 
dragged  her  along  the  floor,  until  she 


6S0 


ROMISH    MIRACLES. 


das  bestlis  animas  confitentes  tibi.' 
Alias  colaphum  impegit,  quandoque 
saxum  rude  in  earn  libravit,  quod 
solo  tenus  Rosam  nee  Isesam  nee 
terrltam  prostravit.  Libros  ejus 
spirituales  laceravit,"  etc.  —  P.  412. 


cried  to  the  Bridegroom,  '  Deliver 
not  the  souls  of  those  who  confess 
thee,  to  the  beast.'  At  another  time 
the  devil  gave  her  a  box  on  the  ear, 
and  once  he  hurled  a  great  stone  at 
her,  which  nearly  threw  her,  neitlier 
hurt  nor  terrified,  to  the  ground.  He 
also  tore  her  spiritual  books,"  etc. 

These   are   ecclesiastical    miracles  which   Dr.   Newman 

says  are  antecedently  as  credible  as  the  miracles   in  the 

Word  of  God.     Is  the  reverend  father  serious  ?  or  was  he 

ignorant  of  these  things  ?     It  is  said,  in  the  next  place  :  — 

"  Prope  obitum  per  Quadragesi-        "  Rosa  daily  sang  throughout  Lent 
mam  cum  avicula  mire  canora,  qua)    the  praises  of  God  for  a  whole  hour, 


sole  occiduo  ante  suum  cubiculura 
advolabat,  alternavit  Rosa  cantica 
et  laudes  Dei  quotidie  per  horam 
integram  tanto  ordine,  ut  canente 
avicula  virgo  sileret,  et  virgine 
modulante,  avicula  attentissima  nee 
pipiret.  Quin  et  ipsas  insensibiles 
plantas  exemplo  prorsus  singular! 
ad  laudes  et  ad  orationem  Dei,  eo 
versiculo  prolato,  '  Benedicite  uni- 
versa  genninantia  in  terra  Domino,' 
invitavit,  et  visibiliter  sic  inclinavit, 
ut  arborum  summitates  terram  at- 
tingerent  veluti  solemni  venerationis 
ritu  Creatorem  suum  adorarent  ; 
usque  adeo  verum  est,  quod  is,  qui 
adhieret  Domino,  unus  Spiritus  est, 
et  ei  quod  obediant  omnia."  —  P. 
410. 

"Interea  Limam  pervenere  hujus 
Sanctoe  sedis  Apostolicae,  ut  ex 
formula,  a  congregatione  Rituum 
praescripta,  examinarentur  testes  de 
vita  et  gestis  hujus  ancillae  Dei: 
quod  coeptum  anno  Domini  mille- 
simo  sexcentesimo  tricesimo,  ob 
multitudinem  testium,  qui  fuere  nu- 
mero  centum  octoginta  tre^,  non  po- 
tuit  absolvi,  nisi  in  mense  Maio, 
anno  millesimo  sexcentesimo  tricen- 


alternately  with  a  most  tuneful  bird, 
which  flew  before  her  chamber  at 
sunset;  and  with  such  regularity 
that  the  virgin  was  silent  whilst  the 
bird  sang,  and  whilst  she  was  mak- 
ing melody,  the  very  attentive  bird 
did  not  interrupt  her.  And  when 
she  invoked  the  insensible  plants  to 
praise  God,  when  she  uttered  the 
verse,  '  Let  all  things  budding  upon 
the  earth  praise  the  Lord,'  they  bent 
so  visibly,  that  the  tops  of  the  trees 
touched  the  earth,  as  if  they  adored 
their  Creator  with  solemn  veneration ; 
so  true  is  it,  that  he  who  keeps  close 
to  the  Lord,  is  one  Spirit,  and  all 
things  obey  him." 


"In  the  mean  time,  they  of  the 
holy  Apostolical  see  came  to  Lima, 
in  order  that,  according  to  the  form 
of  the  Ritual  prescribed  by  the  con- 
gregation, witnesses  might  be  ex- 
amined as  to  the  life  and  acts  of  this 
handmaid  of  God:  which  began  in 
the  year  of  the  Lord  1630,  and  on 
account  of  the  great  number  of  wit- 
nesses, who  were  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three  in  number,  could  not 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


631 


imo  secundo.  Fuere  pro  visitatione 
reliquiarum  Ros£e  de  more  deputati 
inspectores,  qui  aperta  area  lignea 
repererunt  virgineum  corpusculura 
post  qiiintum  dccimum  expletura  ab 
obitu  annum,  consuraptis  indumeu- 
tis,  ossibus  integris,  et  adhuc  sicca 
hic  inde  came  obductis,  quce  odo- 
rcm  rosarum  exhalabant." 


be  finished  until  the  month  of  May, 
1632.  Inspectors  were  appointed  to 
visit  the  remains  of  Rosa,  who  ou 
the  wooden  tomb  being  opened, 
found  the  small  body  of  the  virgin 
wasted  away,  it  being  fifteen  years 
after  her  death,  the  coverings  de- 
cayed, the  bones  entire,  and  on  their 
being  brought  to  this  place  on  that 
occasion,  with  the  dry  flesh,  they 
exhaled  the  odor  of  roses." 


This  saint  was  no  obscure  one ;  for  we  are  informed :  — 


"When,  therefore,  now  nothing 
remained  to  be  done  but  those  things 
which,  according  to  the  authority  of 
the  holy  Fathers,  the  decrees  of  the 
sacred  canons,  the  ancient  custom 
of  the  holy  Roman  Church,  and  the 
prescription  of  the  new  decrees, 
were  necessary  for  the  purpose  of 
the  holy  function  of  canonization  of 
this  dearly  beloved  bride  of  the 
Lord  Christ,  Rosa;  the  same  having 
been  requested  by  our  dear  children 
in  Christ,  Queen  ^larianne  the  Re- 
gent, and  Charles  II.  King  of  Spain, 
the  whole  order  of  the  preaching 
brothers  of  St.  Dominick,  the  king- 
dom of  Peru,  and  all  the  provinces 
of  America,  to  which  were  added 
the  prayers  of  our  venerable  bro 
thers  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops 
of  Spain  and  of  the  Indies,  we  have 
thought  it  just  and  right,  that  the 
aforesaid  blessed  one,  whom  the 
Lord  himself  from  heaven  makes 
daily  more  celebrated,  we  should 
praise  and  glorify  in  an  oflice  of 
worship  upon  earth." 

And  the  Pope  decreed  her  canonization  as  follows  :  — 


"Cum  igitur  jam  nihil  deesset 
eorum,  quse  sacrosanctie  function! 
canonizationis  hujus  dilectaj  Christi 
Domini  Sponsaj  Rosoe  necessaria 
erant  ex  sanctorimi  Patrum  auctori- 
tate,  sacrorum  canonum  decretis,  et 
SanctiB  Romanaj  Ecclesia;  antiqua 
consuetudine,  ac  novorum  decreto- 
rum  priescripto;  rogantibus  carissi- 
mis  in  Christo  filiis  nostris  Regina 
^larianniv  Regente,  ac  etiam  Carolo 
II.  itidem  Hispaniarum  rege,  toto 
ordine  fratrum  praidicatorum  Sancti 
Dominici,  regno  Peiniano,  et  omni- 
bus provinciis  American,  accedenti- 
bus  etiam  precibus  venerabilium 
fratrum  nostrorum  Archiepiscopo- 
rum  et  Episcoporum  rcgnorum  His- 
panic et  Indiarum,  justum  et  debi- 
tum  esse  censuimus,  ut  prcedictam 
beatam,  quam  ipse  Dominus  de  die 
in  diem  magis  clarificat  e  calls,  nos 
quoque  vcnerationis  officio  laudemus 
et  glorificemus  in  terris,"  etc. 


"Ad  honorem  sancta;  et  individuce 
Trinitatis,  et  fidei  catholicoe  exalta- 


"  To  the  honor  of  the  Holy  and 
undivided  Trinity,  and  the  exalta- 


632 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


tionem,  auctoritate  Omnipotentis 
Dei,  Patris,  Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti, 
beatorum  Apostolorum,  ac  nostra, 
de  venerab ilium  fratrum  iiostrorum 
Sanctse  Romanae  Ecclesise  Cardina- 
liura,  Patriarcliarum,  Arcliiepiscopo- 
rum  et  Episcoporum  in  Eomana 
curia  existentium  consilio  ac  unan- 
imi  consensu,  beatam  Rosam  de 
Sancta  Maria,  Virginem  Limanam, 
de  cujus  vitse  sanctitate,  fidei  su- 
ceritate,  ac  miraculorum  excellentia 
plane  constat,  Sanctam  esse  defin- 
ivimus  ac  Sanctarum  Virginum 
catalogo  adscribeudam  deci'eviraus, 
prout  prgesentium  tenore  decei-ni- 
mus,  definimus  et  adscribimus,  stat- 
uentes  ab  ecclesia  universa  quolibet 
anno  die  tricesima  mensis  Augusti 
memoriam  ejus  inter  sanctas  Vir- 
gines  recoli  debere,  in  nomine  Pa- 
tris, Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti.   Amen. 


Eadem  auctoritate  omnibus  et 
singulis  vere  posnitentibus  et  con- 
fessis,  qui  annis  singulis  in  die  festo 
ipsius  Sanctaj  Rosjb  ad  sepulchrum, 
in  quo  ejus  corpus  rcquiescit,  visi- 
tandum  accesserint,  septem  annos  et 
totidem  quadragenas  de  injunctis 
eis  aut  aliis  quomodo  libet  debitis 
poenitentiis,  misericoi-diter  in  Domi- 
no relaxavimus  in  forma  Ecclesiai 
consucta."  etc.  etc. 

*'  Datum  Romge  apud  Sm.  Petrura 
anno  incai-nationis  Dominican  mil- 
lesimo  sexcentesimo  septungcsimo 
primo,  pridie  Idus  Aprilis,  pontifica- 
tus  nostri  anno  primo." 

"  -f  Ego  Clemens  Catholicae  Ec- 
clesise Episcopus." 

Also  the  signatures  of  thirty  five 
cardinals  ai'e  appended  to  the  bull. 


tion  of  the  Catholic  faith,  by  the 
authority  of  Almighty  God,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  of  the  blessed 
apostles,  and  by  our  own,  with  the 
advice  and  unanimous  consent  of 
our  Venerable  brethi-en  the  Cardi- 
nals, Patriarchs,  Archbishops,  and 
Bishops  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church, 
who  are  now  in  the  Roman  court, 
we  have  determined  that  the 
blessed  Rosa  of  Sancta  Maria,  a 
Virgin  of  Lima,  whose  sanctity  of 
life,  sincerity  of  faith,  and  excellency 
in  miracles,  is  fully  evident,  is  a 
Saint;  and  we  have  decreed  that 
she  shall  be  inscribed  in  the  cata- 
logue of  Holy  Virgins,  as  we  decree, 
determine,  and  inscribe,  by  the  ten- 
or of  these  presents,  appointing  that 
her  memory  be  venerated  by  the 
univei'sal  Church  among  the  Holy 
Virgins  on  the  30th  day  of  August, 
in  every  year;  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost.    Amen. 

"  By  the  same  authority,  to  all 
and  singular,  truly  penitent  and 
confessing,  who  in  every  year  on  the 
festival  of  St.  Rosa,  shall  go  to  visit 
the  sepulchre  in  which  her  body 
rests,  Ave  grant  indulgence  merci- 
fully in  the  Lord,  according  to  the 
usual  form  of  the  Church,  seven 
years,  and  so  many  of  quadregenas 
from  the  penances  enjoined  upon 
them  as  otherwise  due." 

"Given  at  Rome  before  St.  Pe- 
ter's day,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
Incarnation,  1671,  on  the  day  before 
the  Ide  of  April,  in  the  first  year  of 
our  pontificate." 

"  f  I  Clement,  Bishop  of  the 
Catholic  Church." 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  633 

The  following  prayer  is  offered  up  by  all  Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  by  Dr.  Newman  himself,  on  every  30th  of 
August :  — 

St.  Rosa  of  Lima,  Virgin.  (Roman  Missal.  London, 
1840,  p.  G84.)  "O  Almighty  God,  the  giver  of  all  good 
gifts,  who  wert  pleased  that  blessed  Rosa,  abundantly  fa- 
vored by  the  precious  dew  of  heavenly  grace,  should  beau- 
tify the  Indies  with  her  purity  and  patience ;  grant  that  we 
thy  servants,  following  the  perfume  of  her  virtues,  may  be- 
come an  agreeable  odor  to  Christ." 

Now,  the  next  batch  of  Romish  miracles  I  give  you  is 
the  most  interesting  of  all.  Dr.  Newman,  you  are  aware, 
belongs  to  the  Oratory,  the  founder  of  which  is  St.  Philip 
Neri.  His  children  in  the  Oratory  will  be  refreshed  by  my 
extracts  here.  I  have  made  a  list  of  the  remarkable  mira- 
cles alleged  to  have  been  done  by  this  saint ;  and  of  all  the 
miracles  which  Dr.  Newman  accepts,  and  finds  it  impossible 
to  resist,  he  certainly  accepts  those  of  his  illustrious  founder, 
and  must  read  my  catalogue  with  great  devoutness.  In  his 
book  he  states  that  his  lectures  were  delivered  in  the  home 
and  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Philip  Neri.  The  miracles  of 
St.  Philip  Neri  are  those  he  especially  refers  to ;  and  I  am 
sure  it  must  be  gratifying  to  Dr.  Newman  to  be  reminded 
of  what  were  some  of  the  illustrious  miracles  done  by  his 
own  distinguished  founder.  But  whether  they  are  credible 
or  consonant  to  reason  is  a  very  different  question.  I  quote 
the  history  of  them  from  "  Bollandi  Acta  Sanctorum.  Acta 
Sanctorum,  Mail;  collecta,  digesta,  illustrata  a  Godefrido 
Henschenio  et  Daniele  Papebrochio,  e  Societate  Jesu. 
Tom.  vi.,  quo  continentur  dies  25,  26,  27,  28,  operam  et 
studium  conferentibus  Francisco  Baertio  et  Conrado  Jan- 
ningo  ejusdem  Societatis.  Antwerpiae,  1688.  —  Vita  S. 
Philippi  Nerii,  auctore  Antonio  Gallonio,  Oratorii  Presby- 
tero,  Romse  edita,  quinto  post  mortem  Sancti  anno." 

Hieronymus  Bernabeeus  (Congregationis  Oratorii  S.  Ma- 


634 


KOMISH    MIRACLES. 


rise  in  Vallicella  dum  viveret  prsepositus,)  in  his  Life  of 
St.  Philip  Neri,  says :  — 


"  Quinquennio  post  bead   patris 
excessum,  quas  de  illius  vitS.  mori- 


"Five  years  after  the  departure 
of  the  blessed  Father,  those  things 


busque    sanctissimis,    turn    Latine    which  relate  to  his  morals  and  life, 


etiam  Italice  scripserat  Antonius 
Gallonius,  in  lucem  edita  sunt,  ipso 
summo  Pontifice  approbante,  eaque 
omnia  sa^pius  magna  cum  animi 
jucunditate  perlegente;  multis  eti- 


Antonius  Gallonius  wrote  in  Italian 
and  Latin,  and  published,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  most  hiyh  Pontiff 
himself,  who  often  read  them  with 
great  delight.    Many  Cardinals  also 


am  Cardinalibus  in  ipsa  libri  fronte  have  thus  written  in  the  beginning 

sic   subscribentibus  omnia  quae  de  of  the  book  itself,  '  I  certify  concern- 

Beato    Philippo    Nerio    conscripta  ing  all  the  things  which  are  related 

sunt,  partim  propriis  oculis  me  vi-  of  the    Blessed    Philip    Neri,   that 

disse,  partim   certo  gravissimorum  some  of  them  I  have  seen  with  my 

vivorum  sermone  cognovisse,  attes-  own  eyes,  and  the  rest  I  know  to  be 

tor  ego."  — Tom.  vi.  p.  623.  true  on  the  positive  testimony  of  the 

most  credible  living  witnesses.'  " 

Now  hear  some  of  those  things  which  the  Pope  read 
with  great  delight,  and  which  are  said  to  have  been  done 
by  Dr.  Newman's  father  and  founder;  and  in  believing 
which,  of  course,  he  can  see  no  difficulty  whatever,  or  any 
doubt  of  credibility.  "Acta  Sanctorum,  Maii,  torn.  vi. 
p.  467,  caput  11.  Acta  vitas  usque  ad  ordines  sacros, 
annum  aetatis  36." 


"Nam  laicus  cum  esset,  annum 
vitse  trigesimum  non  attingens, 
Christi  scilicet  anno  millesimo  quin- 
gentesimo  quadragesimo  quarto,  ea 
repente  spiritus  vi  repleri  se  sensit 
divinitus,  eoque  impetu,  ut  cor  11- 
lico  sibi  intra  corpus  saltitare  cce- 
perit,  eoque  ardore  inflammari,  ut 
eum  natura,  inusitata  quadam  cordis 
palpitatione,  omnino  se  ferre  non 
posse  significaret.  Quamobrem  be- 
nignus  Dominus,  quo  ilium  ad  pluri- 
morum  salutem  diutius  conservaret, 
confractis  atque  in  pugilli  eoque 
majorem  amplitudinem  elatis  dua- 
bus  siuistri  lateris  costulis,  quarta 


"  For  when  he  was  a  laj^man,  not 
yet  thirty  years  of  age,  to  wit,  in 
the  year  1544,  he  felt  himself  re- 
plenished with  such  power  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  and  with  so  great 
force,  that  he  felt  his  heart  leap 
within  his  body,  and  bum  with  so 
great  heat,  that  nature  gave  notice 
during  this  unwonted  palpitation  of 
his  heart,  that  she  could  not  bear  it. 
Wherefoi-e,  the  gracious  Lord,  in 
order  to  spare  him  for  the  salvation 
of  many,  having  broken  two  of  his 
ribs,  and  increased  the  space  above 
a  handbreadth.  by  hfting  them  up, 
of  his  left  side,  namely  the  fourth 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


635 


scilicet  et  quinta,  ejusdem  cordis  si- 
num,  quo  id  liberius  ageretur,  mi- 
rum  in  modum  ampliavit.  Erat  is- 
tiusmodi  fractura  in  anteriore  parte 
pectoris,  ubi  costae  in  cartilaginem 
desinunt.  Quo  ex  tempore,  adeo  ve- 
hementcr  umplius  quiuquaginta  to- 
tos  annos  agitari  concutique  coepit 
assidue  plus  minusve,  mox  atque 
mente  rapiebatur  in  Deum,  ut  non 
modo  toto  corpore  contremisceret, 
verum  etiam  lectulus  ipse,  aliaque 
omnia  quibus  illc  insidebat,  quasi 
terras  motu  acta;,  eo  orante  quate- 
rentur." — Ann.  aetatis  29;  Cbristi, 
1544. 


and  fifth,  -wonderfully  enlarged  the 
sphere  of  the  heart,  for  the  purpose 
of  its  freer  action.  A  fracture  was 
made  in  this  manner  in  the  anterior 
part  of  the  breast  where  the  ribs 
terminate  in  cartilage.  From  which 
time  his  heart  began  to  be  so  vehe- 
mently shaken  and  agitated  for  up- 
wards of  fifty  years,  more  or  less; 
soon  after  he  was  so  mentally  car- 
ried away  toward  God,  that  he  not 
only  kept  quaking  all  over,  but  his 
very  bed,  and  all  other  things  on 
which  he  usually  sat,  were  shaken 
as  by  an  earthquake  while  ho 
prayed!!  " 


These  extravagancies,  which  Dr.  Newman  tliinks  mirac- 
ulous, recollect,  are  stated  in  one  of  the  highest  Roman 
Catholic  authorities  that  I  can  submit  to  Dr.  Newman.  But, 
indeed,  he  needs  not  my  special  references.  He  is  not 
ashamed  of  them. 


"  Coepit  in  suo  cubiculo,  singulis  a 
prandio  diebus,  confluentes,  lectulo 
frequenter  insidens,  (quod  Dei  amore 
langueret,)  de  rebus  ccelestibus  eru- 
dlre.  In  his  colloquiis  (quod  mira- 
bile  dictum  est)  cam  divini  amoris 
vim  sentiebat.  ut  modo  toto  corpore 
contremisceret,  modo  e  lectulo  in  al- 
tum  attolleretur,  (crederes  eum  ab 
aliquo  sic  mirabiliter  retineri,)  modo 
demum  lectulus  ipse,  vel  quandoque 
etiam  ipsum  cubiculum  motu  nutare 
et  concuti  videretur,  terrjBraotum 
ibi  factum  esse  putares." — lb.  p. 
471. 

"Initio  Sacerdotii,  cum  in  ecclesia 
S.  Hieronymi  sacrum  ageret,  tanta 
repente  divini  Spiritils  abundantia 
replebatur,  ut  aquam  vinumque  in 
calicem  de  more  infundere  vix  pos- 
set; adeo  enim  ejus  manus  in  altura 
attollebantur,  ut  exsilire  quodammo- 


'  Every  day,  after  dinner,  he  began 
to  teach  those  who  came  to  him, 
frequently  seated  on  his  bed,  because 
he  was  sick  with  the  love  of  God. 
What  is  wonderful  to  be  told,  during 
these  conferences  he  felt  that  power 
of  divine  love,  that  at  one  time  he 
shook  violently  all  over  his  body,  at 
another  he  was  lifted  into  the  air,  so 
that  you  would  believe  he  was  there 
held  by  some  one:  and  at  other 
times  the  bed  itself  seemed  so  to  nod 
and  vibrate,  that  you  would  have 
supposed  it  was  an  earthquake." 

"  In  the  beginning  of  the  priest- 
hood, when  he  was  engaged  in  sacred 
duties  in  St.  Jerome's  Church,  he 
was  suddenly  filled  with  so  great 
abundance  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  that 
he  could  not  pour  the  Avine  and 
water  into  the  chalice  as  usual,  for 


636 


ROMISH    MIRACLES. 


do  et  saltitarc  viderentur ;  atque  ille, 
nisi  brachio  ad  altare  tanquara  ad- 
miniculo  maximo  annixus  studio, 
coeptum  opus  prosecutura  esset,  ni- 
hil egisset  unquam.  ...  Quo  tem- 
pore salutarom  hostiara  de  more  at- 
tollebat,  ita  mens  rapiebatur  in  De- 
um,  ut  manus  sublime  erectas  de- 
ponere  non  posset.  Retulit  ille  pos- 
tea,  videri  sibi  se  ab  aliquo  appre- 
hendi,  atque  alte  a  terra  per  vim 
mirabiliter  sustolli."  — lb.  p.  470. 


his  hands  were  so  lifted  up  on  high, 
that  sometimes  they  seemed  to  leap 
up  and  dance  vigorously;  and  he 
never  could  do  any  thing,  unless,  in 
order  to  enable  him  to  finish  what 
he  began,  he  leant  with  his  hand 
upon  the  altar,  and  was  propped  up 
with  the  greatest  care.  .  .  .  At  the 
time  of  his  lifting  up  the  salutary 
host,  his  mind  was  so  carried  away 
toward  God,  that  he  could  not  draw 
down  his  hands  lifted  on  high.  He 
related  afterwards,  that  he  seemed  to 
himself  to  have  been  seized  by  some 
one,  and  miraculously  and  forcibly 
lifted  on  high  from  the  earth." 


"Anno  Domini  circitermillesimo 
quingentesimo  quinquagesimo  primo, 
cum  iter  Philippo  esset,  quem  multi 
sequebantur,  eum  in  locum,  ubi  ex- 
stant  Thermae,  quas  Diocletianas 
appellamus;  vidit  in  quodam  pari- 
ete  vetustate  collapso  stantem  daemo- 
nem  hominis  specie,  quem  cum  at- 
tentius  inspiceret,  observabat  eum 
nunc  juvenem,  nunc  senem  apparere. 
Quibus  rebus  deemonis  insidias  ag- 
noscens,  Christi  nomine  imperat  ut 
qui  sit  aperiat.  His  ille  victus  cel- 
eri  fuga  sese  proripuit,  odoreque 
teterrimo,  quo  absens  locum  iUura 
implevit,  quem  ne  bestiaa  quidem 
ferrc  possent,  ecquis  tondem  esset 
Philippo  caeterisque  qui  aderant  spec- 
tatoribus  patefecit."  — lb.  p.  473. 

Now,  Dr.  Newman   says  that  such  miracles  are  ante- 
cedently as  credible  as  the  miracles  of  Scripture.    Again  — 


"  About  the  year  1551,  when  PhiHp 
was^n  a  journey,  and  many  follow- 
ing him,  toward  the  place  where  are 
the  Baths  of  Diocletian,  he  saw  on  an 
old  and  ruinous  wall  the  devil  stand- 
ing in  the  likeness  of  a  man,  and  on 
attentiveexamination  he  saw  him  at, 
one  time  appear  as  a  young  man, 
and  again  as  an  old  man.  Knowing 
the  devil's  tricks  from  these  things, 
he  ordered  him  in  the  Name  of  Christ 
to  disclose  himself.  Overcome  by 
this,  the  devil  took  to  his  heels,  and 
he  discovered  himself  to  Philip  and 
the  other  spectators  by  the  most  of- 
fensive smell  which  he  left  behind  — 
a  smell  which  not  even  the  beasts  of 
the  field  were  able  to  bear." 


"  Francisco,  ex  ejus  discipulis  uni, 
Fen-ariensi  cognomento,  daemon  noc- 
tu  sanctissimse  Virginis  instar  appa- 
ruit ;  id  autem  eo  consilio  ut  vel  sic 
hominem  ea  specie  facili  us  deciperet. 
Idque  cum  is  mane  ad  Philippum 


"  To  Francis,  one  of  his  disciples, 
whose  cognomen  was  Ferrariensis, 
the  devil  appeared  by  night  like  the 
most  holy  Virgin  Mary,  with  the 
purpose  of  more  easily  deceiving  him 
under    that  form.     When  he  told 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


637 


detulisset;  Non  tibl,  inquit  ille,  sanc- 
tissima  Dei  mater,  ut  putas,  sad 
daemon  ejus  in  fonna  sese  videndura 
obtulit;  itaque  cum  primum  eadem 
visio  tibi  se  denuo  objiciet,  faciem 
ejus  qui  apparet  conspuas  jubeo. 
Insequenti  nocte,  Ferrariensi  magno 
animi  ardore  precanti,  daemon  ea- 
dem specie  atque  eodem  fulgore  mi- 
cans  proesto  est;  qui  prajcepti  beati 
Patris  baud  immcmor.  diaboli  mox 
fociem  sputo  focdat,  qua  re  confusus 
daemon  turpiterque  suj)eratus  evan- 
uit.  Vixque  ille  aufagerat,  cum 
sacratissima  Virgo  ei  sese  palam  os- 
tendit;  eum  ut  faciem  ejus  conspuat 
modo  id  possit,  movet;  demum  rec- 
reatum  mirifice  relinqucns  abiit."  — 
lb.  p.  476. 


Philip  of  it  in  the  morning,  he  said, 
'  Not  the  most  holy  mother  of  God, 
but  the  devil  presented  himself 
in  that  form;  therefore,  when  ho 
again  presents  himself  to  you,  spit 
in  his  face.'  The  following  niglit, 
while  Francis  was  praying  with 
great  devotion,  the  devil  appeared  in 
the  same  form,  and  shining  with  the 
same  splendor;  he,  mindful  of  the 
advice  of  the  blessed  Father,  spat 
all  over  the  devil's  face,  who,  con- 
founded by  this  occurrence,  basely 
ran  away.  Scarcely  had  he  run 
away,  when  the  most  holy  Virgin 
showed  herself  openly  to  him,  and 
advised  him  to  spit  in  the  devil's 
face,  provided  it  can  be  done,  and 
then,  leaving  hira  wonderfully  re- 
freshed, she  departed." 


This  is  another  miracle  which  Dr.  Newman  regards  as 
being  as  credible  as  the  miracles  of  Scripture.  Again,  this 
author  tells  us  — 


"  Eo  ipso  anno  millesimo  quingen- 
tesimo  quinquagesimo  octavo,  Persi- 
anus  Rosa,  sacerdos,  qui  Philippo  a 
sacerdotibus  erat,  ajgrotabat  gravis- 
sime,  cumque  ad  ultimum  periculi 
Venisset,  a  diabolo  nigerrimi  canis 
specie  vexari  coepit  acerrime.  His 
in  angustiis  divinum  magna  animi 
demissione  implorabat  auxilium,  il- 
lud  Psalmi  frequenter  inclamans, 
*  Judica  me,  Deus,  et  discerne  cau- 
sam  meam.'  Cumque  hunc  in  mo- 
dum  cum  communi  hoste  dccertaret, 
venit  improviso  Philippus.  Quem 
ubi  ille  vidit,  claraare  continuo  coe- 
pit, 'Adjuva  me,  sancte  Philippe: 
est  hie  canis  colore  nigemmus,  qui 
me  lacerare  nititur,  succurre,  quoeso, 
sucourre  quod  potcs,  ne  devorer.' 
Quibus  verbis  motus  beatus  Pater, 
humi  iUico,  adstantibus  primum  ut 
54 


"In  that  same  year  1558,  Persi- 
anus  Rosa,  a  priest,  who  was  ap- 
pointed to  Philip  from  the  priests, 
Avas  very  ill,  and  when  he  had  reached 
his  greatest  danger,  he  began  to  be 
bitterly  vexed  by  the  devil,  in  the 
shape  of  a  jet-black  dog.  In  this 
perplexity  he  implored  the  Divine 
help,  with  great  dejection  of  mind, 
often  uttering  that  part  of  the  Psalm, 
'  Judge  me,  0  God,  and  decide  my 
cause.'  While  he  was  battling  with 
the  enemy  in  this  style,  Philip  un- 
expectedly came  to  him,  on  seeing 
whom  he  began  to  cry  incessantly, 
'  Help  me,  holy  Philip,  for  there  is 
here  a  dog  of  very  black  color,  who 
tries  to  tear  me  in  pieces.  Save  me, 
I  beseech  thee,  for  thou  art  able; 
save  me  from  being  devoured.'  The 
blessed    Father,    moved    by   these 


658 


KOMISH   MIRACLES. 


pro  aegro  vel  serael  orationera  Domini- 
cam  recitent  jussis,  sose  prostravit. 
Quod  cum  faceret,  '  Ecce  tibi,'  ille 
derepente  magna  voce  dicere  coepit. 
Canis  recedit;  fuglt  canis;  et  in  lim- 
ine ostii  stat.  Turn  surgens  ab  ora- 
tione  Philippus  piacularis  aquse  as- 
persione  dajmonem  ab  eo  etiam  loco 
fugavit,  magno  cum  solatio  mori- 
entis." — Id.  p.  478. 


■words,  and  having  commanded  those 
who  stood  by  to  offer  up  the  Lord's 
Prayer  once,  at  least,  for  the  sick 
man,  fell  prostrate  on  the  gi-ound. 
When  he  had  done  so.  '  Here  is  for 
you ! '  he  began  to  say,  suddenly, 
with  a  loud  voice.  The  dog  recedes ; 
the  dog  flies;  and  stands  on  the 
threshold.  Then,  rising  from  prayer, 
Philip  routed  the  devil  entirely  from 
that  place,  by  the  sprinkling  of  holy 
water,  to  the  great  comfort  of  the 
dying  man." 

The  same  author  gives  another  instance  of  the  saint's 
miraculous  expulsion  of  the  devil,  from  which  it  appears 
that  Dr.  Newman's  founder  had  some  very  strange  tricks 
and  propensities  about  him ;  but,  as  they  are  all  miraculous, 
they  are,  of  course,  most  edifying  to  the  fathers  and  brothers 
of  the  Oratory. 


Quodam  autem  die,  beato  viro 


One  day,  while  the  holy  man  was 


Catharinam  ferreis  cateuatis  immise-    flogging    a    lady  named   Catharine 


ricorditer  verberante," 


with  small  iron  chains,  in  the  most 
merciless  manner," 


(  —  not  a  very  saintly  act,  one  would  suppose  — ) 


"  daemon  alta  voce  clamare  coepit, 
<  Cjcde  jam,  percute,  occide.'  .  .  . 
Cum  quondam  die  ea  ipsa  de  qua 
diximus  Catharina  Philippi  jussa 
flagellis  cajsa  fuit;  insequenti  nocte 
eidem  Philippo,  suo  clause  cubiculo, 
apparuit  Satan,  qui  minacibus  ocu- 
lis  ilium  intuitus  in  has  prorupit 
voces ;  '  Heus,  heus,  bone  vir,  hodie 
pro  tuse  voluntatis  arbitrio  auctori- 
tate  mete  illusisti,  at  ego  injuriarum 
non  obliviscar,'  Et  his  dictis  con- 
festim  evanuit."  — Ibid.  p.  491. 

"  Eodem,  opinor,  anno,  cum  esset 
Philippus  if?  ecclesia,  dedit  sese  ei 
in  conspcctum  diabolus  puerili  fonna 


"the  devil  began  to  bellow  with  a 
loud  voice,  '  Beat  now,  strike !  kill !' 
.  .  .  When  on  the  very  day  we  have 
mentioned  Catharine  was  beaten 
with  Avhips,  Satan  appeared  to  Philip 
at  night,  his  chamber  being  closed, 
and,  beholding  him  with  threatening 
eyes,  broke  forth  into  these  expres- 
sions, '  Ho,  ho,  good  fellow,  at  your 
pleasure  you  have  to-day  mocked 
my  authority,  but  I  will  take  care 
not  to  forget  the  injuries  you  have 
done.'  Having  said  these  words  he 
disappeared." 

"  The  same  year,  I  think,  when 
Philip  was  at  church,  the  devil 
presented  himself  to  him  in  the  form 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


639 


ut  eiim  irrideret.  At  ille  subodo- 
ratus  confestim  qui  esset,  qui  aliena 
specie  ad  se  illudendum  venerat,  eum 
advocat,  contemnit,  demumque  ab 
ecclesia  ejicit."  — Ibid.  p.  499. 


of  a  little  boy,  in  order  to  laugh  at 
him;  but  Philip,  smeHiiig  out  who 
he  was  who  hud  come  to  mock  him 
under  another  form,  cites  him,  de- 
spises him,  and  at  last  thrusts  him 
out  of  the  church." 


Next,  I  give  a  very  antecedently  credible  miracle  to  the 
Oratorian  Fathers :  — 

"  Media  vero  hieme,  quo  tempore  "  About  the    middle    of  winter, 

maximum  in  urbe  frigus  esse  solet,  when  the  cold  is  usually  greatest  in 

ad  postremum  usque  diem  (quis  ere-  the  city,  at  the  close  of  the  day 

deret?)"  (who  could  believe  it?  )" 

( — the  Roman  Catholic  historian,  the  Bollandist,  says, 
"  Who  can  believe  it  ? "  The  answer,  in  Dr.  Newman's 
Lectures,  is,  "  I  see  no  difficulty  in  believing  it "  — ) 

"ita  derepente  eo  orante  ipsius  cor  "while  he  was  praying,  his  heart 
corpusque  divino  aestuabat  igne,  ut  and  body  so  burned  with  divine  fire, 
validissim3,,  ne  aestu  necaretur,  re-  that  he  stood  in  need  of  the  greatest 
frigeratioue  indigeret."  cooling,  lest  he  should  be  killed  by 

the  heat." 

Now,  conceive  his  divine  love  being  so  hot  within  as  to 
cause  the  risk  of  St.  Philip  Neri  disappeai'ing  by  sponta- 
neous combustion. 


*'  Hinc  ille  octogenarius,  modicis- 
sirao  cibo  contentus,  omni  propemo- 
dum  nativo  calore  destitutus,  ut 
eam  amoris  flammam  aliquo  modo 
rcstingueret,  pectus  nudare,  fenes- 
tras for-esque  cubiculi  media  nocte 
pandere,  linteisque  ac  flabellis,  ali- 
ave  opportuniore  aeris  agitatione 
uti,  ad  se  refrigerandum  necesso 
habebat;  et  quidem  ni  cordi,  intero 
ac  divino  consumpto  calore,  hisce 
rebus  fastinanter  subvenisset,  re- 
pentino  certe  interiisset." — Ibid.  p. 
467. 


"  Hence  he,  an  old  man  of  eighty, 
very  sparing  in  his  diet,  and  desti- 
tute of  all  natural  heat,  that  he 
might  quench  in  any  way  such  a 
flame  of  love,  felt  it  necessary,  in 
order  to  cool  himself,  to  bare  his 
bosom,  to  throw  open  the  windows 
and  doors  of  his  bedchamber  at 
midnight,  and  to  use  linen  cloths, 
and  fans,  and  any  other  way  of  agi- 
tating the  air;  and,  indeed,  unless 
he  had  come  speedily  to  the  relief 
of  his  heart  by  these  means,  con- 
sumed as  it  was  by  divine  heat, 
he  would  certainly  have  suddenly 
died." 


64(> 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


Sucli  is  another  credible  miracle  recorded  of  Dr.  New- 
man's founder.     We  are  told  at  another  part,  — 


"  Then  moving  his  hands,  and  full 
of  tears,  as  if  he  embraced  the  most 
blessed  Virgin  in  his  arms,  he  con- 
tinually exclaimed  in  these  words, 
'  0  most  holy  mother  of  God !  0 
most  excellent  and  beautiful  of  all 
creatures ! '  and  when  he  had  ut- 
tered these  words,  he  was  raised 
from  the  ground  with  his  whole 
body,  leaning  on  no  support,  about 
a  cubit,  or  even  more,  in  the  most 
wondei'ful  manner." 

"A  certain  woman  of  very  high 
rank,  more  rich  in  piety  than 
wealth,  one  of  those  who  frequent 
our  church,  prayed  amongst  the  first 
after  the  death  of  Philip  near  his 
tomb,  and  she  smelt  immediately  a 
most  sweet  and  agreeable  smell  pro- 
ceeding therefrom,  by  which  she 
was  wonderfully  refreshed;  and 
after  thinking  to  herself  whence  it 
could  pi-oceed,  and  Avondering  at  it 
(because  there  was  not  a  flower 
there,  nor  any  thing  which  could 
exhale  such  a  smell,)  she  discovered 
that  it  proceeded  from  the  body  of 
Philip  itself,  since  there  were  no 
balms  nor  perfumes  from  Avhich  it 
could  rise.  The  smell  partook  of 
the  sweetness  of  the  odors  which 
proceed  from  roses  and  violets,  and 
others  of  that  genus." 

In  "  Vita  S.  Philippi  Neri  per  E.  P.  Hieronymum  Ber- 
nabosum,  Congregationis  Oratorii  S.  Marias  in  Vallicella 
dum  viveret  praepositum,"  we  are  told  — 

"  Cum    enim     obsessse     cuidam  "  For  when  he  placed  his  hand 

manum  imposuisset,  tam  gravi  o-  upon  a  certain  possessed  woman,  it 

dore  ex  co  contactu  imbutam  sensit,  was    tainted    with    such    a    strong 

ut  per  plures  dies  ilium  abstergere  odor,  that  he  was  not  able  to  get  rid 


"  Turn  motans  subinde  manus 
lacrymarum  plenus,  quasi  beatissi- 
mam  Virginem  obviis  ulnis  amplec- 
teretur,  hisce  vocibus  assidue  clama- 
bat;  '0  Sanctissima  Dei  mater;  0 
omnium  creaturarum  ut  optima,  ita 
et  pulcherrima ! '  et  hsec  cum  effa- 
retur,  toto  corpore,  nullo  fultus  ad- 
miniculo,  cubito  circiter  vel  etiam 
plus  eo  sublimis,  mirandum  in  mo- 
dum  attollebatur."     Ibid.  p.  510. 

"  Mulier  quondam  erat  clarissimis 
natalibus,  abundans  pietate  magis 
quam  divitiis,  una  ex  his  quae  tem- 
plum  nostrum  frequentant;  hsec  ubi 
inter  initia  obitus  Philippi  propter 
ejus  sepulchnim  oraret^  odorem  inde 
confestim  suaviter  jucundeque  spi- 
rantem  sensit ;  quo  mirifice  recreata, 
cum  secum  ipsa  cogitaret,  unde  is 
manare  posset,  comperit  tandem  stu- 
pore  attonita  (quod  nuUus  ibi  flos 
erat,  nullaque  i*es  quae  tanto  halaret 
odore,)  e  Philippi  corpore,  nullis  un- 
guentis  delibuto  aut  balsamo  condi- 
to  effluere.  Erat  suavitas  odorum 
qui  afflantur  e  floribus,  rosis,  violis, 
et  id  genus  aliis."  — Ibid.  p.  516. 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


641 


nequlverit:  quamvis  saponem  atque 
alia  hujusmodi  smegmata  adhibue- 
rit.  Itaque  multis  suorum  manum 
ipsara  porrigebat,  ut  scilicet  graveo- 
lentiam  illam  percipientes,  peccato- 
rum  contagia  loiigissime  devitarent." 
—  P.  592. 


of  it  for  many  days,  although  he 
used  soap  and  other  washes  of  that 
kind.  Therefore  he  stretched  out 
his  hand  to  many  of  his  people,  so 
that  they  perceiving  the  unpleasant 
smell,  might  take  care  always  to 
avoid  it." 


And  then  another  antecedently  credible  miracle  is  stated 
by  the  same  credible  historian  as  folloAvs :  — 


"Denique  tanto  eum  odio  diabo- 
lus  insequebatur,  ut  ille  si  pium 
quidpiam  aggressus  esset,  molestius 
semper  adversaretur.  Igitur  noctu 
oranti  sese  obtulit  truculento  et  ter- 
ribili  aspectu :  at  ille,  implorato  Dei 
matris  auxilio,  importunissimum 
hostem  oxteraplo  fugavit.  Secesse- 
rat  aliquando  ad  orandum  in  supe- 
riorem  partem  cubiculi,  quod  qui- 
dcm  malignus  cum  ferre  non  posset, 
injectis  sordibus  vestem  foedavit. 
Alias  insuper  grandiori  tabula  ilium 
opprimere  tentavit;  saepe  ajgrotanti 
hicernam  extinxit;  sa;pissimo  vero 
ingcntes  strepitus  in  ejus  cubiculo 
audiebantur,  quare  GaUonius,  qui 
inferius  habitabat,  frequenter  som- 
num  ftbriimpere  et  ad  Philippum 
provolare  cogebatur;  sed  hue  il- 
lucque  soUicitis  oculis  circumspi- 
ciens,  cum  nihil  qnidquam  viderat, 
da;mouum  ludibria  ha;c  esse  satis 
apcrtc  intelligebat." — Ibid.  p.  592. 


"  Lastly,  the  devil  followed  him 
with  so  much  hatred,  that  if  he  was 
engaged  in  any  pious  work,  the 
devil  always  thwarted  him  in  a  most 
troublesome  manner.  Thus,  whilst 
Philip  was  praying  in  the  night,  the 
devil  presented  himself  before  him, 
putting  on  a  most  savage  and  terri- 
ble look;  but  by  imploring  the  as- 
sistance of  the  mother  of  God,  he 
immediately  drove  away  his  exces- 
sively troublesome  enemy.  Some- 
times, when  he  retired  to  the  upper 
part  of  his  bedchamber  to  pray,  the 
malignant  devil  not  being  able  to 
bear  it,  threw  dirt  upon  his  clothes. 
At  other  times,  moreover,  he  seized 
Philip's  large  table,  and  threw  it  at 
him;  often  he  put  out  his  candle; 
and  very  often  loud  noises  were 
heard  in  his  bedroom,  by  which 
GaUonius,  who  lived  in  the  room 
below,  was  frequently  awoke  out  of 
his  sleep,  and  compelled  to  run  up 
stairs  to  Philip,  to  see  what  was  the 
matter;  but  on  looking  all  round  his 
room,  nothing  whatever  could  be 
seen,  and  he  was  then  perfectly  sat- 
isfied these  were  some  of  the  devil's 
tricks." 


Again,   we   have   in  "Bollandi  Acta  Sanctorum,  Maii, 
Appendix,  Relatio  de  Sudore  Imaginis  Patavina?,  auctore 
54* 


642 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


Jacobo  Philippe  Thomasino,  Civitatis-Novse  Episcopo,"  the 
following  account  of  Philip's  image :  — 


"  Die  post  quarto,  id  est,  xxii 
Aprilis,  mane  iterum  sudare  coepit 
eadera  imago,  signanterque  notaban- 
tur  majores  guttge  dtioe,  una  sub 
oculo  sinistro,  altera  ex  eadem  parte 
qua  OS  desinit.  Accurrerunt  omnes 
Oratorii  presbyteri  ad  intuendam 
rem  adeo  rairam,"  etc.  —  P.  650. 


"On  the  22d  of  April,  in  the 
morning,  the  image  of  St.  Philip 
Neri  began  to  perspire,  two  large 
drops  being  particularly  noticed,  one 
under  the  left  eye,*and  the  other  on 
the  same  side  of  the  mouth.  All 
the  priests  of  tlie  Oratory  ran  im- 
mediately to  see  so  wonderful  a 
thing,"  etc. 

A  variety  of  other  instances  of  this  miraculous  perspira- 
tion are  given  in  this  narrative,  which  occupies  five  folio 
pages.  The  Bishop  in  his  preface  favors  us  with  the  fol- 
lowing remarks :  — 

"  Sudare  et  lacrymari  imagines 
omlnosum  semper  antiquitati  fuit. 
Unde  S.  Augustinus,  libro  de  Civit. 
Dei,  c.  12,  refert  statuam  ApoUinis 
Cumani  per  quatuor  dies  plorasse: 
supra  quern  locum  Coqueens  addu- 
cit  locum  T.  Livii,  lib.  xliii.  eumque 
confirmat  auctoritate  Ciceronis,  lib. 
i.  de  Divinatione,  et  Julii  Obsequen- 
tis,  lib.  de  Prodigiis,  asserentium, 
rem  a  divinatoribus  sic  acceptam, 
quasi  proxima  Grfficorum  ruina  et 
liomanorum  felicitas  eo  ploratu  sig- 
nificata;  fuerint.  Similiter  Lucanus 
niter  belli  civilis  praisagia  numerat, 

"Indigetes  flevisse  Deos,  urbisque 
laborem 
Testatos  sudore  Lares. 


"  Nos  contra  sudorem  ab  imagine 
S.  Philippi  Nerii  expressum,  puta- 
mus  fuissc  effectum  visceralis  erga 
Deum  araoris."  —  Ibid.  p.  549.  Prce- 
fatio. 


"  In  ancient  times  it  was  always 
an  ominous  thing  for  images  to  weep 
and  perspire.  Whence  St.  Augus- 
tine, in  his  book  de  Civit.  Dei,  c.  12, 
tells  us,  that  the  statue  of  Apollo 
Cumanus  wept  four  days ;  to  which 
instance  Coqueens  adds  a  passage 
from  Livy,  lib.  xliii.  and  confirms 
him  by  the  authority  of  Cicero,  lib. 
i.  de  Divinatione  and  Julius  Obse- 
quens,  in  his  book  on  Miracles,  as- 
serting it  as  a  thing  accepted  by  all 
seers,  that  the  approaching  ruin  of 
the  Grecians  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  Komans  Avere  prognosticated  by 
the  weeping  of  that  statue.  In  like 
manner  Lucan  enumerates  amongst 
the  foretokens  of  the  civil  war,  the 
fact  that  the  images  of  the  gods  had 
wept,  and  that  the  household  gods 
had  given  notice  of  the  approaching 
distress  of  the  city  by  perspii-ing. 

"  We,  on  the  other  hand,  think 
that  the  perspiration  that  came  out 
of  the  image  of  St.  Philip  Neri  was 
the  eflect  of  his  visceral  love  toward 
God." 


ROMISH    MIRACLES. 


643 


In  the  "  Magnum  Bullarium  llomanum,"  etc.  torn.  v.  p.  1, 
Luxemburg!,  1727,  "  Urbanus  VIII.  1G23.  Obiit  Philip- 
pus,  26  Mail,  1595;"  after  stating,  "Urbanus  Episcopus, 
Servus  Servorum  Dei,  ad  perpetuam  rei  memoriam,  Ra- 
tioni  congruit,"  etc.,  we  have  some  further  accounts  of  St. 
Philip  Neri,  as  follows  :  — 


"Ac  vix  annum  setatis  suae  vicesi- 
mum  nonum  attigerat,  cum  inter 
alia  divinitus  accepta  dona,  plane 
mirabilis  cordis  palpitatio  fuit  ac 
fracturae  costarum;  quae  publico 
medicorum  testimonio  praeter  na- 
turae ordinera  obtigit,  quasi  mentis 
dilatato  sinu,  etiam  caro  dilataretur, 
et  exsultaret  in  Deum  vivum." 


"And  he  had  hardly  attained  his 
twenty-ninth  year,  when,  amongst 
other  divine  gifts,  he  had  most  cer- 
tainly a  wonderful  palpitation  of  the 
heart  and  fractures  of  his  ribs; 
which  thing  happened  to  him  con 
trary  to  the  order  of  nature,  accord- 
ing to  the  public  testimony  of  medi- 
cal men,  as  if  by  the  enlargement 
of  his  mind,  his  flesh  was  enlarged 
also,  and  rejoiced  in  the  living 
God." 


Now,  I  say,  it  was  a  very  remarkable  soul  that  could  not 
get  room  to  think,  and  it  must  have  been  very  intense  love 
which  necessitated  the  fracture  of  two  of  Philip's  ribs,  in 
order  that  it  might  have  room  to  develop  itself.  But  still 
these  miracles  are  so  popular,  and  so  antecedently  credible 
in  the  minds  of  the  Roman  Catholic  historians,  that  there 
are  duplicates  of  the  narrative  from  which  I  give  you  the 
account  of  them :  — 


"  Non  est  omittendum  quod  is  fuit 
in  primis  caritate  in  Deum  admira- 
bili,  tit  interns  ille  ignis  nonnun- 
quam,  cum  attenderet  ad  divina,  re- 
dundarct  in  corpus,  et  facics  atque 
oculi  scintillulis  micarent." 


"  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in 
his  early  years,  such  was  his  won- 
derful love  to  God,  that  when  he 
was  occupied  about  divine  things 
the  internal  fire  overabounded  in 
his  body,  and  his  face  and  eyes 
emitted  sparks  of  fire." 


I  said  that  some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  saints  seemed  like 
electric  jars:  this  last  saint  was  more  than  a  jar  —  we 
might  almost  call  him  a  living  volcano,  his  eyes  and  whole 


644 


ROMISH    MIRACLES. 


face  being  the  crater,  and  often  emitting  sparks  of  fire. 
Again,— 

"  He  possessed  together  with  the 
gift  of  love,  that  of  virginity,  on 
account  of  wliich  many  wlio  con- 
versed with  him  were  refreshed, 
either  by  the  aspect  of  his  counte- 
nance and  eyes,  or  by  the  sweet 
smell  which  usually  proceeded  from 
his  body." 

From  this  it  is  plain  that  St.  Philip  Neri  was  also  a  kind 
of  bottle  of  eau  de  Cologne,  or  lavender  water.  Again,  we 
are  told,  — 


"  Caritati  virginitatis  donum  ad- 
junctum  habult,  quo  multi  qui  cum 
ipso  versabantur,  vel  vultus  atque 
oculorum  intuitu,  vel  suavi  fragran- 
tia,,  qua  illius  corpus  redolere  con- 
sueverat,  recreabantur." 


"  Illud  etiam  Philippo  coUatum  a 
Deo  fuit,  ut  dum  uno  inesset  in  loco, 
in  alio  longe  distante,  uno  eodemque 
prorsus  tempore  nonnuUis  apparu- 
erit." 

"  Quamplurium  insuper  confiten- 
tium  atque  amicorum  animas  in  coe- 
lum  intucri,  atque  angelos  concin- 
entes  interim  audire  solitus  erat, 
quinetiam  interiorem  eorura  pulchri- 
tudinem,  qui  essent  in  statu  gi-atijB, 
divinitus  agnoscebat." 

"  Post  hffic,  ubi  selectione  in  loco 
corpus  reconditum  est,  ad  ipsum 
venerandum  populi  concursus  fieri, 
votivae  defem  tabulse,  donaria  multa 
append!,  ac  suavissimus  quidam  odor 
a  multis  inde  percipi  coepit." 


"  Philip  also  was  so  favored  by 
God,  that  whilst  he  was  in  one  place 
he  visibly  appeared  at  that  same 
time  to  some  who  were  in  another 
place  far  distant." 

"Furthermore,  he  often  saw  the 
souls  of  many  who  confessed  to  him, 
and  of  his  friends  in  heaven,  and 
sometimes  he  heard  the  angels  sing- 
ing, and  he  also  divinely  recognized 
the  interior  beauty  of  those  who 
were  in  a  state  of  grace." 

"  After  these  things,  crowds  of 
people  came  to  the  place  where  by 
selection  his  body  was  buried,  to 
venerate  him,  votive  tablets  were 
brought,  and  many  offerings  append- 
ed, and  a  most  sweet  odor  began  to 
be  perceived  there  by  many." 


In  the  "  Breviarum  Romanum  ex  Decreto  SS.  Concilii 
Tridentini  restitutum  S.  Fii  V.  Pont.  Max.  jussu  editura,  et 
Clementis  VIII.  primum,  nunc  denuo  Urbani  P.  P.  VIII.  auc- 

toritate  recognitum.  Antwerpire,  1823."  "  Pars  Verna,  festa 
Maii,  die  xxvi.  Maii.  Philippus  Nerius,  etc.  Lee.  v.,"  we 
are  told,  — 

"  Charitate  Dei  vulneratus  Ian-  "  He  languished  in  consequence  of 
guebat  jugiter;    tantoque  cor  ejus    being  continually  in  pain  from  the 


ROMISH  miracles; 


645 


rostuabat  ardore,  ut  cum  intra  fines  love  of  God ;  and  his  heart  so  burned 

sues   coiitineri  non  posset,  illius  si-  witli  heat,  that  it  could  not  be  kept 

num,  confractis  atque  elatis  duabus  witliin  its  boundaries;  but  the  Lord 

costuHs,  mirabiliter  Dominus  ampli-  wonderfully  enlarged  his  thorax  by 

averit.    Sacrum  vero    faciens,   aut  breaking    and    raising  two    of  his 

fcrventius  orans,  in  acre  quandoque  ribs.     Whilst  saying  mass,  or  pray- 

sublatus,  mira  undlque  luce  fulgere  ing  fervently,  he  was  raised  into  the 

■visus  fuit."  air  and  appeared  luminous." 

This  Breviary,  you  see,  exceeds  the  Bull  of  Canonization  ; 
since  it  not  only  states  inward  heat  and  sparks  of  fire,  but 
informs  us  that  he  was  elevated  and  carried  into  the  air, 
where  he  appeared  luminous,  something  like  a  rocket,  or  an 
aurora  borealis,  I  should  suppose.  Yet  it  is  all  "antece- 
dently credible."     Again,  Lectio  vi.  — 


"  In  animorum  sensibus  penetran- 
dis  mirifice  enituit.  Virginitatera 
perpctuo  illibatara  servavit;  idque 
assecutus  est,  ut  eos,  qui  puritatem 
colercnt,  ex  odore,  qui  vero  secus 
ex  fa^tore  dignosceret:  absentibus 
interdum  apparuit;  usque  pericli- 
tantibus  opem  tulit.  .  .  .  Coelestium 
Spirituum  et  ipsius  Deiparae  fre- 
quenter fuit  apparitione  dignatus; 
ac  plurimorum  animas  splendore 
circumfusas  in  coelum  conscendere 
vidit." 


"  He  was  wonderfully  famous  for 
his  powers  of  seeing  into  men's 
souls.  He  lived  in  perpetual  virgin- 
ity ;  and  he  so  acquired  the  sense  of 
smell,  that  he  could  discern  by  the 
sweet  odor  which  proceeded  from 
them,  those  who  lived  in  purity,  and 
by  their  bad  smell,  those  who  were 
the  reverse :  sometimes  he  appeared 
to  those  who  were  absent  from  him, 
and  he  gave  assistance  to  those  who 

were  in  peril  everywhere 

He  frequentlj'  was  thought  worthy 
to  enjoy  visions  of  the  heavenly 
spirits,  and  of  the  mother  of  God 
herself;  and  he  saw  the  souls  of 
many  ascend  into  heaven  in  a  halo 
of  glory." 

It  is  said  in  the  Breviary  that  Gregory  XV.  placed  St. 
Philip  Neri  among  the  saints ;  but  Gregory  XV.  died  before 
he  could  issue  the  Bull  of  the  Canonization,  which  was  ac- 
cordingly issued  by  his  successor.  Urban  VIII. 

Now,  concerning  the  whole  of  these  miracles,  I  must  say, 
that  there  is  a  revolting  materialism  about  them  all.  Every 
spiritual  and  moral  feature  is  carnalized,  till  miraculous 


^4^  ROMISH   MTRACLE3. 

devotion  explodes  in  sparks,  and  ardent  affection  breaks  the 
ribs,  and  heavenly  desires  lift  men  off  thoir  feet.  Conceive 
what  a  power  Dr.  Newman's  father  and  founder  must  have 
had,  to  have  been  able  to  detect  a  bad  man  by  the  very 
smell,  and  a  good  man  equally  by  the  very  same  faculty. 
Now,  if  Dr.  Newman,  as  an  Oratorian,  has  the  extraordi- 
nary talent  of  his  distinguished  founder,  I  bid  the  people  of 
Birmingham  beware :  he  will  be  able  at  a  single  whiff  to 
determine  who  are  the  pure  and  the  impure  among  you ; 
and,  without  the  aid  of  the  confessional,  to  know  all  that 
relates  to  you.  But,  soberly,  I  would  ask,  does  Dr.  New- 
man mean  to  say,  that  these  miracles  are  antecedently  as 
probable  as  the  miracles  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  ?  Is  not 
the  divinity  of  the  latter,  proof  of  the  earthly  origin  of  the 
former  ?  I  have  given  you  these  miracles  from  the  highest 
Roman  Catholic  authorities,  not  to  be  smiled  at,  nor  for  the 
sake  of  exciting  your  merriment,  as  Dr.  Newman  may 
probably  allege,  but  solemnly  and  sorrowfully  as  speci- 
mens—  authentic  specimens  —  of  the  miracles  said  to  have 
been  wrought  by  the  distinguished  saints  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  among  the  rest,  by  Dr.  Newman's  own  founder, 
St.  Philip  Neri;  and  I  appeal  to  the  common  sense,  the 
intuitive  and  broad  intelligence  of  all  who  hear  me,  are 
these  miracles  to  be  spoken  of  in  the  same  breath,  or  to  be 
placed  in  the  same  category  with  the  majestic  and  glorious 
miracles  which  are  the  credentials  of  the  Word  of  God  — 
the  miracles  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 

The  next  batch  of  "  credible  "  miracles  I  will  present  are 
the  miracles  of  a  Neapolitan  saint.  Sister  Maria  Francisca, 
of  the  Wounds  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  the  order  of 
the  barefooted  Minors  of  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara. 

Her  canonization  was  petitioned  for  by  Charles  Emmanuel 
IV.  King  of  Sardinia,  by  Francis  Bourbon,  Prince  of  Naples, 
by  the  Senate  of  the  city  of  Naples,  by  the  Most  Eminent 
and  Reverend  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Naples,  by  the  Most 


ROMISH    MIRACLES.  647 

JReverend  Chapter  and  Canons  of  the  Metropolitan  Church 
of  Naples,  by  the  Congregation  of  the  Servant  of  God, 
Maria  Francisca,  of  the  Wounds  of  Jesus  Christ.  All 
these  letters,  addressed  to  Pope  Pius  VII.,  1800,  are  given 
at  full  length  at  the  end  of  the  volume  I  quote ;  and  we  are 
informed  that  thirty-two  other  letters,  with  the  same  petition, 
were  written  by  Roman  Catholic  Archbishops,  Chapters, 
Abbots,  etc.,  whose  names  and  titles  are  fully  given. 

The  book  which  contains  the  summary  of  the  evidence  of 
the  seventy-eight  witnesses  who  were  examined  respecting 
her  life,  faith,  virtues,  and  miracles,  is  entitled,  "  Sacra 
Rituum  Congregatione  Emo.  et  Riiio.  Domino  Card.  Pigna- 
tello  Neapolitana,  Beatiiicationis  et  Canonizationis  Servas 
Dei  Sor.  Maria?  Franciscae  a  Vulneribus  D.  N.J.  C,  Terti- 
aria3  professaj  Ordinis  Minorum  Excalceatorum  S.  Petri  de 
Alcantara  Urbis  Neapolis.  Summarium  super  introductione 
Causae.  Romae,  1803,  apud  Lazarinum  R.  C.  A.  typo- 
graphum."  At  the  end  of  the  volume,  we  find,  —  "  Revisa. 
A  Gardellini,  Subproraotor  Fidei." 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  observe  that  Sister  Maria 
Francisca  is  reported  to  have  had  a  great  reverence  for  the 
Pope  and  the  Priests.  In  a  vision  (p.  243),  she  is  said  to 
have  seen  Pope  Pius  VI.  in  his  pontificals,  attended  by  two 
angels.  She  is  related,  moreover,  to  have  entertained  a 
peculiar  devotion  to  the  Virgin  Mary ;  to  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Eucharist ;  to  have  venerated  sacred  images  ;  and  to 
have  practised  the  discipline,  that  is,  self-flagellation,  with  a 
most  awful  severity.  Such  is  the  Romish  system.  Whilst 
the  New  Testament,  which  relates  the  life,  conduct,  and 
miracles  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  is  withheld  from  the 
Italian  people,  the  exemplars  of  Romish  saints  recommend 
the  worst  superstitions,  fanaticisni,  idolatry,  and  priestcraft 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  the  admiration,  imitation,  and 
veneration  of  the  people. 

At  present  I  shall  only  instance  some  of  the  miracles 


648  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

which  are  reported  by  various  witnesses,  the  summary  of 
whose  evidence  is  contained  in  these  vohimes.  The  work 
consists  of  two  volumes,  one  of  them  is  written  in  Latin,  and 
the  other,  from  which  I  have  copied  these  extracts,  is  in 
Itahan.  I  shall  only  briefly  mention  some  of  the  miracles, 
referring  to  the  pages  which  contain  the  account  of  them  ; 
but  if  the  Rev.  Dr.  Newman  or  Cardinal  Wiseman  desire 
to  inspect  the  work  in  my  presence,  or  in  the  presence  of 
George  Finch,  Esq.,  in  whose  library,  at  Burly-on-the-Hill, 
it  now  is,  they  shall  be  most  welcome. 

1.  Miraculous  Ecstasies. 

The  first  miracle  I  shall  refer  to  is  her  wonderful  ecstasies. 
It  is  related  of  her  that  she  was  seen  on  one  occasion  to  be 
raised  several  palms  high  from  the  ground,  and  that  she  had 
been  seen  to  fly  to  the  church  without  touching  the  ground 
with  her  feet :  "  Fu  veduta  sollevata  piii  palmi  dal  suolo  e 
colle  bracchie  aperte,  quando  portavasi  alia  nostra  chiesa, 
volava  senza  toccar  piedi  in  terra."  —  P.  2G3. 

2.  The  ardor  of  her  Love  to  the  Eucharist. 

Her  love  to  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar  was  so  fiery 
(ignitus),  that  on  one  occasion  she  cried  out,  "  Water ! 
water ! "  and  her  companion  was  obliged  to  dip  handker- 
chiefs into  the  holy  water,  and  to  apply  them  to  her  breast : 
"  Si  accesa  detta  serva  di  Dio  talmente  d'  amore  verso  detto 
Augustissimo  Sagramente,  che  cominci6  a  chiadere, '  Acqua ! 
acqua ! '  onde  fu  costretta  detta  compagna  ad  inzuppare 
fazzoletti  nella  fonte  dell'  acqua  benedetta,  ed  applicarceli 
sul  petto.  —  P.  220. 

3.  Blinded  by  the  rays  from  a  holy  Bambino. 

When  placing  a  holy  Bambino  (^.  e.  image  of  the  infant 
Jesus)  into  the  manger  (nel  presepio),  such  brilliant  rays  of 
light  proceeded  from  the  Bambino,  as  to  blind  her  for  three 
days  ;  and  she  recovered  her  sight  through  the  prayers, 
obedience,  and  blessings  of  Padre  Salvadore,  her  director : 
—  "  Altra  volta,  nel  fare  la  detta  funzione,  furono,  per  essa  si 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  645 

penetranti  e  resplendent!  i  raggi  che  uscirono,  dal  S.  Bam- 
bino, che  la  fecero,  restare  cieca  nell'  intutto  per  tre  giorni, 
che  poi  air  orazione,  ubbidienza  e  benedizione  datala  dal  P. 
Salvadore,  dal  quale  mi  fu  raccontato,  ricuperd  la  vista."  — 
P.  213. 

4.  She  possessed  a  holy  Bambino,  which  emitted  a  super- 
natural sweet  odor,  and  which  on  one  occasion  stretched  out' 
its  feet  and  hands,  (p.  213,)  when  it  was  dressed  by  Sister r 
Francisca,  at  her  bidding. 

"  Teneva  ancora  dentro  di  una  gran  Teca  di  fiori  di  essa^ 
lavorati  un  bellissimo  Bambino  di  relievo  di  un  palmo  di' 
grandezza,  pulito  e  graziosamente  vestito  di  calza,  e  scarpe,- 
con  corona  in  testa  c  con  un  Anello  al  dito,  che  spi- 
rava  un  odore  soavissimo  e  straordinario,  quale  lo  con- 
serva  amorc  al  presente,  ma  non  tanto  quanto  prima,  e- 
tantora,  quanto  per  lo  passato  fu  stimato  da  tutti  sopra— 
naturale  Questo  Bambino  s'  era  la  cosa  piii  preziosa  da- 
Suor  Maria  Francesca,  per  cui  lo  teneva  come  un  Santua- 
rio,  e  solamenta  I'aprivo  ne  maggiori  bisogni,  ma  prima  v*' 
accendeva  le  Candeli  avanti,  siccome  fa  ancora  il  Rev.  D^. 
Giovanni  Pessivi,  in  poter  del  quale  e  restato  ancora  per  le'- 
supradette  *  rclazioni  un  ammirabile  avvenimento,  cioe,  che* 
quando  Suor  Maria  Francesca  fece  al  detto  Bambino  le- 
vesti,  le  calze,  e  le  scarpe,  non  potendo  metterle,  disse, 
*  Mino  mio,  se  non  stendi  i  piedi,  non  posso  calzarci,'  ed  ib 
Bambino  puntualmente  li  stendera.  Cosi  fece  ancora  coUe- 
manine  per  mettergli  il  vestito,  che  ancora  tiene."  "When- 
Sister  Maria  Francesca  made  for  the  said  Bambino  its. 
robes,  and  stockings,  and  shoes,  not  being  able  to  put  them 
on,  she  said  to  it,  '  My  little  child,  if  you  do  not  stretch  out 
your  feet  I  cannot  put  on  your  shoes  and  stockings,'  and  the* 
Bambino  instantly  stretched  them  out.     It  did  the  same- 


•  The  relation  of  Padre  Felice,  her  Confessor,  confirmed  by  Sistear 
Maria  Felicia  and  Sister  Theodora  Tipaldi. 
55 


650  KOMISH   MIRACLES. 

with  its  little  hands,  in  order  to  put  on  the  robe  which  it 
now  has."  Such  were  the  miraculous  doings  of  a  wooden 
image  of  the  Saviour. 

4.  The  devil  throws  a  great  stone  at  her,  which  strikes 
the  window,  and  nearly  kills  a  poor  man  in  the  street. 

"  Un  *  altra  volta  mentre  stava  secondo  il  solito  inchiodata 
nel  letto,  e  che  io,  e  molti  altri,  sacerdoti  le  facevamo  com- 
pagnia  seduti  d'  intorno,  aspergendo  da  tempo  in  tempo  il 
letto,  e  la  stanza  con  I'acqua  santa ;  tutto  ad  un  tempo  ci 
disse.  '  Levatemi  da  dirimpetto  la  finestra,  perche  peru- 
chella  (cosi  soleva  chiamare  il  demonio)  minaccia  volermi 
nienare  una  pietra.'  Non  tanto  ci  fummo  scostati  da  detto 
luogo,  che  fu  lanciata  con  impeto  straordinario  da  mano  in- 
Tisibile  una  grossa  pietra,  che  colpendo  su  la  crociera  di 
della  finestra,  cadde  abbasso  la  strada,  e  poco  manco  che 
non  restasse  ucciso  un  pover'  uomo,  che  vendeva  frutti  giusto 
sotto  d'  essa." 

"  Once  when  she  was,  as  usual,  confined  to  her  bed,  and 
when  I  and  many  other  priests  kept  her  company  sitting 
round  her,  sprinkling  the  bed  and  the  apartment  from  time 
to  time  with  holy  water,  all  at  once  she  said  to  us,  "  Take  me 
away  from  before  the  window,  because  Peruchella  (thus  she 
was  accustomed  to  call  the  devil)  threatens  to  throw  a  stone 
at  me.'  We  had  hardly  removed  from  the  place,  when  a 
great  stone  was  hurled  by  an  invisible  hand,  which,  striking 
against  the  casement  of  the  window,  fell  down  into  the  street, 
and  very  nearly  left  for  dead  a  poor  man,  who  sold  fruit 
just  underneath." 

5.  She  inflicts  upon  herself  the  most  dreadful  scourgings, 
which  she  offered  to  the  Lord  for  the  souls  in  purgatory, 
and  chiefly  for  dead  priests  ! ! ! 

"  Rapporto  alle  discipline,  che  faceva  nascostamente,  So,t 

*  This  is  the  testimony  of  the  Perillustris  et  Adm.  Kev.  Dominus  D. 
Joannes  Pessiri,  Presbyter. 
t  Bev.  Dominus  D.  Joannes  Pessiri,  Presbyter. 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  651 

che  se  ne  faceva  a  sangue  la  settimana,  delle  quali  una 
Tofferiva  al  Signore  per  le  anime  nel  purgatorio,  e  speciai- 
mente  de'  sacerdoti  defunti,"  etc.  —  P.  228. 

5.  On  one  occasion  her  scourging  was  so  severe  that  the 
bleeding  continued  for  several  days,  and  was  at  last  stopped 
by  applying  to  it,  by  the  advice  of  her  director,  a  picture  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  which  emitted  an  odor  of  Paradise,  which 
it  retained  for  a  whole  year. 

The  evidence  is  given  by  Adm.  Rev.  P.  F.  Aloysius, 
Maria  a  Jesu,  Sacerdos  professus  ordinis  Minor  S.  Petri 
de  Alcantara,  Lector,  Definitor,  Visitator,  ac  Missionarius 
Apostol.  (oculatus  34  circ.  postremis  servae  Dei  vitre  annis), 
folio,  1602,  ter.  sup.  76  arti.  (p.  278)  :  "Mi  fu  referito  dal 
P.  Salvadore,  che  una  volta  la  serva  di  Dio  non  so  per  qual' 
appresa,  ma  non  commessa  colpa,  si  flagell6  talmente,  che 
non  poteva  in  verun  conto  ristagnare  il  sangue,  ma  come  il 
detto  direttore  la  vedeva  patire,  la  precetto  con  S.  Ubbi- 
dienza  a  manifestarle  il  tutto,  indi  le  ordin6,  che  ci  avesse 
applicata  una  figurina  della  divina  Pastoretta,  sebbene  da 
Suor  Maria  Francesca  vi  si  trovava  repngnanza,  e  solo 
effetto  della  poca  riverenza,  che  avrebbe  usata  alia  Yirgine 
Ssma.,  ma  finalmente  ubbidi,  e  la  mattina  d'  appresso  si  trov5 
Sana  prodigiosamente,  senza  che  detta  figurina  in  carta  si 
fusse  in  menoma  parte  macchiata  di  sangue,  e  che  traman- 
dava  un  odore  di  Paradiso,  per  cui  la  volte  il  detto  direttore, 
et  la  tenne  presso  di  se  conservata  per  un  anno  in  circa, 
senza  mai  perdere  detto  gratissimo  odora  quale  usciva  solo 
dalla  parte  dell'  imagine." 

The  nature  of  her  scourgings  may  be  presumed,  from  the 
fact  that  she  is  said  to  have  had  an  iron  scourge,  and  to  have 
put  in  it  iron  stars  and  sharp  spurs. 

Witness,  Soror  Maria  Fehx,  apassione  Tertiaria  ord.  S. 
Petri  de  Alcantara ;  "  E  mi  ricordo  di  piii,  che  in  tempo  di 
dctti  S.  Esercizi  tenendo  nelle  sue  mani  una  disciplina  di 
ferro,    colla  medesima  disciplinando   se   stessa,  insegniva 


652  ROMISn    MIRACLES. 

aviche  il  demonio  di  notte  tempo,  quando  procurava  tentarla. 
Si  batteva  con  una  disciplina  armata  di  stelle  di  ferro,  ed 
acuti  speroni."  —  P.  378. 

6.  She  obtained  permission  from  the  Saviour  to  undergo, 
for  a  time,  instead  of  certain  persons  who  are  named,  and 
among  the  rest  is  one  of  her  confessors,  called  II  P.  Maestro 
Giuseppe  Gricco  Antonio,  for  whom  she  sujQTered,  for  the 
space  of  a  month,  the  dreadful  pains  of  purgatory.  Her 
sufferings  are  described  as  follows,  by  the  illustrious  and 
Pev.  John  Pessiri,  a  priest :  "  After  having  offered  herself 
to  the  Lord,  she  remained  for  hours,  days,  and  weeks,  and 
sometimes  for  a  month,  confined  to  and  immovable  in  a  bed, 
transfixed  in  all  the  senses  of  her  body,  with  inexpressible 
pains,  sometimes  with  the  total  loss  of  all  sense  and  strength. 
In  fact,  she  was  reduced  to  a  very  skeleton,  so  that  the  bare 
sight  of  her  excited  compassion." 

"Dopo  essersi  offerta  al  Signore,  restava  per  ore,  per 
giorni,  e  per  settimane,  e  certe  volte  per  un  mese  inchiodata 
ed  immobile  in  un  letto  trafitta  da  inesprimabili  dolor  in  tutti 
li  sensi  del  corpo  colla  perdita  intera  talvolta  di  tutti  li  sensi 
e  le  forze  in  somma  si  riduceva  come  in  vero  cadavere  che 
recava  compassione  al  solo  vederla  —  siccome  e  noto  anche 
ad  altri  testimoni."  —  P.  282. 

7.  The  Saviour  often  appeared  to  her  in  the  Sacrament, 
in  the  form  of  a  little  child. 

Witness,  Soror  Maria  Felix,  a  passione  Tertiaria  ord.  S. 
Petri  de  Alcantara:  "Mi  costa  (constat)  ancora  di  certa 
Qpienza,  che  il  Signore  piii  volte  se  le  fece  vedere  nella  S. 
Comunione  in  forma  di  Bambino." —  P.  249. 

8.  The  Saviour  appeared  to  her  as  the  Divine  Saviour, 
and  placed  a  diamond  ring  upon  her  finger  in  the  form  of  a 
heart,  in  token  of  her  being  his  spouse,  which  had  a  paradi- 
siacal splendor,  and  contained  five  diamonds,  as  a  sign  of  the 
five  wounds  of  Christ. 

Witness,  Adm.  Pev.  P.  F.  Aloysius,  Maria  a  Jesu  Sacer- 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  653 

dos,  professus  ordinis  Minor  S.  Petri  de  Alcantara,  Lector, 
Definitor,  Visitator,  ac  Missionarius  Apostolicus.  "  Final- 
mente  soggiungo  due  singolarissime  finezze  racconte  dalla 
serva  di  Dio  in  occasione  del  Santo  Presepio  per  traduzione 
del  Padre  Felice  suo  confessore  al  Padre  Salvadore,  confer- 
matomi  poi  Da  Suor  Maria  Felice,*  e  da  Suor  Teodora 
Tipaldi,  che  ne  stavano  intese  (averli).  La  prima  fu  Y 
aver  avuto  nella  notte  di  S.  Natalc  avanti  detto  Presepio 
dal  divin  Salvatore  Tisibilmente  apparsole,  1'  anello,  celeste 
in  segno  dello  sposalizio  fatto  con  Jesu  Christo,  quale  anello 
mostrato  venne  allora  dalla  Serva  di  Dio  a  detta  sua  Com- 
pagna  ;  ma  questa  non  lo  vidde  affatto,  dicendole  con  la  sua 
solita  semplicita,  che  tramandava  uno  splendore  di  Paradiso, 
ed  era  format©  a  cuore  con  5  diamanti  in  segno  delle  5  piaghe 
di  Jesu  Christo,  raccontandole  ancora  il  grazioso  colloquio 
tenuto  con  D.  Salvadore,  che  visibilmente  apparsole  le  disse, 
*  Eccomi  sposa  mia,  gia  son  venuto,  che  mi  vuoi  dare  ? '  Ed 
ella  rispose,  Signore  io  sono  una  povera  di  corpo  e  di  anima, 
voi  potete  darmi  tutto  e  farmi  vostra  sposa.  Ed  allora  il 
divin  Salvadore  le  pose  in  dito  il  detto  anello,  seco  sposan- 
dola  con  amor  singolarissimo.  II  detto  anello  fu  portato 
dalla  serva  di  Dio  per  lo  spazio  di  8  giorni,  cioc  per  tutta  V 
ottava  del  S.  Natale."  — P.  208. 

9.  She  is  blasphemously  said  to  have  had  imparted  to  her 
the  sufferings  of  Christ,  his  bloody  sweat,  the  anguish  of  the 
crown  of  thorns,  his  scourging  and  his  agonies  on  the  cross, 
and  to  have  had  his  wounds  visibly  impressed  upon  her.  It 
is  stated  that  whilst  enduring  the  agonies  of  the  cross  (p. 
215),  she  was  in  contortions,  with  her  arms  stretched  out ; 
that  her  limbs  trembled  ;  that  small  streaks  of  blood  dropped 
from  her  hair ;  that  her  head  was  languid,  turning  first  on 
one  side  and  then  on  the  other  side,  and  sometimes  falling 

*  Her  Director.    Thus  we  find  three  priests  and  two  nuns  giving  circu- 
lation to  and  evidencing  this  fable. 
55* 


654  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

on  her  cliest ;  that  her  eyes  were  darkened  and  without  mean- 
ing,  and  that  her  face  was  palUd,  and  with  a  deathhke  sweat. 

Witness,  Adm.  Rev.  P.  F.  Aloysius,  Maria  a  Jesu  Sacer- 
^'dos  ordinis  Minor  S.  Petri  de  Alcantara,  Lector,  Definitor, 
Visitator,  ac  Missionarius  Apostolicus. 

After  describing  how  she  was  loaded  by  the  Saviour  with 

an  invisible  cross,  and  describing  her  tortures  in  her  feet, 

'the  above  witness  proceeds  to  state  how,  on  every  Friday, 

she  partook  of  the  most  holy  wounds,  and  all  the  mysteries 

•of  Christ's  passion.    "  In  questo  luogo  mi  costa  quanto  ersica 

e  sublime  sia  stata  la  fede  e  la  divozione  della  serva  di  Die 

verso   la   passione   di    Gesu   Christo    dai   singolari  doni  e 

privilegi  che  ne  riporto  mentre  in  tutti  i  Venerdi  dell'  anno, 

6  specialmente  in  tempo  di  Quaresima  il  Signore  le  parte- 

cipo  le  sue  sagratissime  Piaghe,  e  tutti  i  misteri  della  sua 

.passione,  come  si  ave  per  tradizione  del  P.  Felice  di  lei  con- 

fessore,  del  P.  Salvadore  di  lei  direttore,  oltre  di  che  mi  e 

.stato  contestato  ancora  dalla  piu  volte  nominata  una  Com- 

^pagna   Suor  Maria  Felice,  e  da  Suor  Teodora  Tipaldi,  che 

ne  sono  testimoni  oculari  e  Cominciavano  le  dette  Piaghe  a 

comparire  nolle  di  lei  mani  sui  dal  Giovedi  dopo  vespro 

come  una  rosetta,  o  un  carbonco,  secondo,  la  loro  espressione, 

le  quali  poi  o  poco  apoco,  si  dilotavano  finestre  nel  Venerdi 

sequente  comparivano  nelle  piante  della  mani  di  sotto,  e  di 

sopra  come  fossero  squarciate  da  un  grosso  perno,  o  sia  chiodo. 

.Da  una   sua  commandre  per   noma  Giovanna  Peccerillo, 

?donna  Scaltra,  pia,  e  divota  confidente  della  serva  di  Dio,  ora 

xiecrepita,  mi  fu  ancora  raccontato  d'  aver'  ella  verduto  co' 

propri  occhi  in  un  Venerdi  di  Marzo,  come  jDativa  la  croci- 

.iissione,  avendola  osservata  distesa  sul  letto   colle  braccia 

.aperte  contorcersi,  e  dimenarsi,  tremando  in  tutte  le  membre, 

de  dita  delle  mani  aggrinzersi  in  maniera  come  se  fossero 

realmente  inchiodate ;  dalli  capelli  grondare  strisce  di  sangue, 

il  capo  languido,  girandolo  ora  destra,  ora  a  sinistra  ed  or 

abandonarlo  sul  petto,  gli  occhi  eclissati  e  stupidi,  la  faccia 

iimpallidita,  e  con  un  sudor  di  morte."  —  P.  215. 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


655 


Afterwards  he  relates  that  she  had  a  copious  sweating  of 
blood,  (p.  216,)  and  that  the  Saviour  communicated  to  her 
the  wound  in  the  side  of  his  breast. 

Such  are  the  miracles  related  in  support  of  priestcraft, 
purgatory,  the  veneration  of  images,  and  the  sanctity  of  one 
of  the  veriest  of  fanatics,  and  such  are  a  few  more  of  those 
miracles  which  Dr.  Newman  alleges  to  be  antecedently  as 
credible  as  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  which  of  course  Dr.  Newman  receives  as  miracles  on 
the  highest  possible  ecclesiastical  authority.  In  fact,  as  he 
says,  he  finds  it  impossible  to  resist  the  evidence  of  them. 

The  next  interesting  miracles  I  shall  quote  arc  those  of 
St.  Dominick,  another  distinguished  saint  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  taken  from  "  Bollandi  Acta  Sanctorum.  Augusti, 
torn.  i.  p.  401.  De  S.  Dominicoconfessore  die  quartCi  Augusti." 


"Firmioribus  testiinoniis  robora- 
tur  prodigium  circa  ha?c  tempora 
patratum,  quod  venerabilis  Ilum- 
bertus  in  vita  S.  Dominici,  c.  44, 
distincte  narrat,  ct  quod  apud  nos  in 
Ultrajectino  ejusdem  vita3  apogra- 
pho  sic  sonat.  '  Cum  aliquando  ap- 
ud castrum,  quod  dicitur  Fanum- 
Jovis,  in  prajdicationc  quadam  idem 
beatus  Dominicus,  fidem  probans 
Catholicam,  lioereticorum  perfidiatn 
multipliciter  improbasset,  post  prae- 
dicationem  more  solito  in  ecclesia  ad 
orationem  remansit.  Et  ecce  novem 
matronaj  nobiles  ex  eodem  castro  in- 
trantes  ecclesiam,  ad  pedes  ejus 
prociderunt  dicentes,  "  Serve  Dei, 
adjuva  nos.  Si  vera  sunt,  quaj  ho- 
die  prajdicasti,  jam  diu  mentes  nos- 
tras erroris  spiritus  excfficavit;  nam 
istis,  quos  tu  haireticos  vocas,  nos 
autem  bonos  homines  appellamus, 
tisque  in  liodiernum  diem  credidi- 
mus,  et  adhsesiraus  toto  corde. 
Nunc  autem  in  medio  fluctuamus. 


"  A  prodigy  performed  about  this 
time  is  confirmed  by  stronger  testi- 
monies, which  the  venerable  Hxun- 
bert,  in  his  life  of  St.  Dominick,  c. 
44,  clearly  relates,  and  which  is  thus 
given  in  the  Utrecht  memoir  of  his 
life.  *  When  the  same  blessed  Dom- 
inick, in  proving  the  Catholic  faith, 
had  attacked  the  perfidy  of  the  her- 
etics in  various  ways  near  the  castle 
called  the  Temple  of  Jupiter,  he  re- 
mained as  usual  in  the  church  in 
prayer  after  preaching.  Behold, 
nine  noble  ladies  entering  the 
church  from  the  same  castle,  threw 
themselves  at  his  ftet,  saying,  "  Ser- 
vant of  God,  help  us.  If  those  things 
be  true  which  you  have  this  day 
preached,  the  spirit  of  error  has 
long  enough  blinded  our  eyes,  for 
those  whom  you  call  heretics,  we 
call  good  men,  and  to  this  day  have 
believed  and  followed  heartily. 
Now,  however,  we  are  perplexed. 
Servant  of  God,  help  us,  and  pray  to 


656 


ROMISH  MIRACLES. 


Serve  Dei,  adjuva  nos,  et  ora  Domi- 
nnra  Deum  tuum,  ut  notam  nobis 
faciat  fidem  suam,  in  qua  vivamus, 
moriamur,  et  salvemur."  '  — P.  228. 
"  Tunc  vir  Dei  stans  aliquandiu, 
et  intra  semetipsum  orans,  post  ali- 
quantulum  dixit  eis, '  Constantes  es- 
tote  et  exspectate  intrepide ;  confido 
in  Domino  Deo  meo,  quod  ipse,  qui 
neminem  vult  perire,  jam  ostendet 
vobis,  quali  domino  hactenus  adhJB- 
Bistis.'  Statimque  viderunt  de  me- 
dio sui  catum  (al.  cattum  in  mar- 
gin) unum  teterrimum  prosilire,  qui 
magni  canis  prseferens  quantitatem, 
habebat  grossos  oculos  et  flammantes, 
linguam  longam  latamque  atque  san- 
guinolentam  protractam  usque  ad 
umbilicum;  caudam  vero  habens 
curtam  sursumque  protensam,  pos- 
teriorum  turpitudinem,  quocumque 
se  verterct,  ostendebat,  de  quibus 
foetor  intolerabilis  exhalabat.  Cum- 
que  circa  matronas  illas  se  per  ali- 
quam  horam  hue  illucque  vertisset, 
ad  chordam,  ex  qua  campana  pen- 
debat,  exsiliens,  et  per  earn  usque 
ad  superiora  conscendens,  tandem 
per  campanile  lapsus  disparuit,  foe- 
da  post  se  vestigia  derelinquens. 
Conversus  autem  ad  matronas  illas 
vir  Dei  Dominicus,  et  consolans  eas, 
'  Ecce,'  inquit, '  per  hoc,  quod  coram 
oculis  vestris,  faciente  Deo,  figura- 
tive comparuit,  potestis  advertere, 
qualis  est  ille,  cui  hactenus,  sequen- 
tes  hsereticos  servivistis.'  Illae  vero 
gratias  Deo  referentes  ab  ilia  horS, 
ad  fidem  Catholicam  sunt  conversae, 
quarum  etiam  aliquse  apud  Sorores 
de  Pruliano  religionis  habitum  as- 
sumpserunt.  Vero  similiter  Hum- 
bertus  istud  miraculum  diligenter 
examinavit,  quandoquidem  illud  dis- 
tinctiori  modo,  quam  alii  scriptores, 
TXvsteritati  reliquit." 


the  Lord  your  God  that  he  would 
reveal  to  us  his  faith,  in  which  we 
may  live,  die,  and  be  saved."  ' 

"  Then  the  man  of  God,  standmg 
some  time,  and  praying  within  him- 
self, after  a  little,  said  to  them, '  Be 
steadfast  and  expect  with  confi- 
dence; I  believe  in  the  Lord  ray 
God,  who  desires  none  to  perish,  that 
he  will  show  you  what  a  master  you 
have  followed.'  Instantly  they  saAV 
leap  from  the  midst  of  them  a  very 
black  cat,  as  big  as  a  large  dog,  with 
huge  and  flashing  eyes,  with  a  long, 
broad,  and  bloody  tongue  thrust  out 
and  extending  to  the  middle  of  his 
body  (umbilicum),  but  with  a  short 
tail  turned  upwards,  so  that  what 
ever  waj'-  he  turned  he  showed  pos 
teriorum  turpidinem,  from  Avhich 
proceeded  a  most  intolerable  smell. 
And  after  showing  himself  to  these 
ladies  for  an  hour,  he  leaped  up 
along  the  bell  rope,  and  climbing  by 
it  he  ascended  to  the  roof  of  the 
house,  and  disappeared  as  if  he  had 
fallen  from  the  belfry,  leaving  foul 
traces  behind  him.  Dominick,  the 
man  of  God,  turning  to  these  ladies 
and  comforting  them  said,  '  Behold, 
by  this  which  has  typically  ap 
peared  before  your  eyes,  God  doing 
it,  you  may  see  what  he  is  whom 
you  have  obeyed  in  following  the 
heretics.'  These  noble  ladies,  after 
giving  thanks  to  God,  turned  to  the 
Catholic  faith,  and  some  of  them 
took  the  habit  of  religion  among  the 
Sistei-s  de  Pruliaimo.  In  hke  man 
ner  also  Humbert  diligently  investi- 
gated the  miracle,  and  at  the  same 
time  has  handed  it  down  to  posterity 
in  a  clearer  manner  than  other 
writers." 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


657 


"  Hinc  facile  fidem  adhibemus  iis, 
qasd  Echardus  tomo  i.  bibli  pra;di- 
cat,  pp.  6.  et  7,  ex  monumentis  ejus- 
dem  monasterii  ita  profert, '  Novem 
nobiles  matrones,  Fani-Jovis  incolse, 
prasdicatione  et  exemplis  Sancti 
Patris  ab  hasresi  conversae  sunt  per 
miraculum,  quod  viderunt,  dcemonis, 
sub  forma  bestiaj  egredientls,  in  tem- 
pore quo  vir  Dei  concionem  finivit: 
quarum  una,  nomine  Berengaria,  in 
inquisitione  facta  pro  sancti  viri  ca- 
nonizatione,  dictum  miraculum,  a  se 
visum,  cum  juramento  testata  est.'  " 


"  Dein  Echardus  ex  iisdem  monas- 
terii monumentis  has  foeminas  con- 
versas  itanominat:  '  Harum  novem 
nomina  hajc  sunt  ex  iisdem  actis. 
Sorores  Audacia,  Raymunda  Passa- 
rina,  Berengaria,  Richarda,  Barbaira- 
na  Jordana,  Guillelmina  de  Bellopon- 
te,  Curtolana,  Raymunda  Claretta, 
Gentiana,qu£e  domum  qualemcunque 
ad  sacellum  beatfc  Virginis  Prulian- 
um  constructum  intrarunt  die  Sanc- 
tae  Coecilioe,  xxii  Novembris,  et  die  S. 
Johannis  evangelista?  sequenti,  xxvii 
Decembris,  1206,  sub  clave  deinccps 
non  egressuraj  clausaj  fuerunt.  His 
paulo  post  duK  se  adjunxere  Manen- 
ta  et  Guillelmina  de  Fano-Jovis, 
quam  ultimam  beatus  Dominicus 
Priorissam  constituit.'  "  — P.  230. 


*  Hence  we  readily  give  credit  to 
those  things  which  Echard  in  his 
first  volume,  pages  6  and  7,  adduces 
from  the  monuments  of  the  same 
Church,  saying, '  Nine  noble  ladies, 
inhabitants  of  the  Temple  of  Jupi- 
ter, were  converted  by  the  preach- 
ing and  examples  of  the  holy  father, 
by  means  of  a  miracle  which  they 
saw  of  the  devil  escaping  in  the  like- 
ness of  a  beast,  after  the  man  of  God 
had  finished  his  sermon;  one  of 
whom,  named  Berengaria,  at  the  in- 
quisition summoned  for  the  canoni- 
zation of  the  holy  man,  testified  on 
oath  that  she  saw  it.'  " 

"Moreover,  Echard  gives  the 
names  of  these  converted  women 
from  the  same  monuments,  thus: 
*  These  are  the  names  of  the  nine, 
taken  from  the  same  sources:  Sis- 
ters Audacia,  Raymunda  Passarina, 
Berengaria,  Richarda,  Barbairana 
Jordana,  Guillelmina  de  Belloponte, 
Curtolana,  Raymunda  Claretta,  Gen- 
tiana;  all  of  whom  entered  the 
building,  which  was  constructed  as 
the  Prulian  Chapel  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  on  St.  Ceciha's  day,  Novem- 
ber the  22d;  and  on  St.  John  th< 
Evangelist's  day  following,  Decem- 
ber the  27th,  1206,  they  were  irrevo- 
cably confined  under  lock  and  key. 
Shortly  after  these  things,  two  of 
them,  Manenta  and  Guillelmina  of 
Jupiter's  Temple,  joined  this  society 
and  the  blessed  Dominick  made  the 
latter  the  Prioress.' " 

From  "Acta  Sanctorum  Bollandi,  mensis  Augusti,"  tom. 
i.  die  quarta,  I  copy  additional  facts. 

.  .  .  "Alia  nonnuUa,  quaa  Sanctus  in  hac  commoratione 
Romana  gessisse  dicitur." 

"  Geraidus  de  Fracheto  in  Vitis       "  Gerard  de  Fracheto,  in  his  Lives 


^y-  owrwi^> 


658 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


Fratnim,  par.  2.  c.  14,  de  sancto  suo 
fundatore  refert  sequentia:  'Cum 
quadam  nocte  vir  sanctus  in  oratione 
prostratus  jaceret,  diabolus  invidens 
ei,  de  tecto  ecclesiaj  lapidem  mag- 
num projecit  tam  fortiter  juxta  eum, 
ut  pel'  totam  ecclesiam  sonitum  fa- 
ceret,  ut  scilicet  eum  ab  orationis 
instautia  deturbaret.  Venit  autem 
lapis  tam  prope,  ut  etiara  tangeret 
caputium  cappae  ejus.  Cumque  vir 
sanctus  immobilis  in  oratione  per- 
sisteret,  diabolus  mox  voce  terribili 
ejulans  confusus  abscessit.'  " — §  565. 
"  Theodoricus  de  Appaldia  apud 
nos,  num.  171.  baud  dubie  ex  hoc 
spioilegio  Gerardi  eamdem  rem  ex- 
cerpsit,  et  quamvis  locus  non  expri 
matur,  tamen  scriptores  Dominicarii 
communiter  tradunt,  id  Romas  in 
ecclesia  S.  Sabina  accidisse." 

"  Quapropter  Malvenda  in  Annal- 
ibus  ad  annum  Christi  1218,  c.  35, 
opportune  nos  ita  monet,  '  Pompeius 
Ugonius  libro  de  Stationibus  Urbis, 
statione  prima  auctor  est,  maraior 
illud  pavimenti,  ictu  saxi  a  dcemone 
jacti,  in  diversas  partes  scissum  et 
conquassatum,  ad  annum  15S6  man- 
sisse  omnibus  conspicuum,  signum 
miraculi  retinens.  Sed  eo  anno,  de- 
jecto  mediano  pariete,  qui  ecclesiam 
intersecabat,  uti  superius  diximus, 
et  instaurato  pavimento,  jussu  Xisti 
Pontificis  Maximi,  qui  earn  eccle- 
siam illustrandam  curabat,  merce- 
narii  operse  nihil  minus  curantes, 
marmor  illud  fractum  amoverunt, 
veteremque  illam  miraculi  mcmo- 
riam  dissiparunt.'  "  —  §  567. 

"  Deinde  laudatus  Pompeius,  fol. 
15,  suggerit  Italice  posteriorem 
memorati  saxi  notitiam,  quam  Mal- 
venda in  AnnaUbus  loco  proxime 


of  the  Brethren,  par.  2.  c.  14,  relates 
the  following  concerning  his  foun- 
der :  '  When  the  holy  man  lay  pros- 
trate in  prayer  one  night,  the  devil, 
envying  him,  threw  at  him  a  great 
stone,  so  violently  that  it  reverbe- 
rated throughout  the  whole  church, 
evidently  in  order  to  disturb  the 
earnestness  of  his  devotion.  The 
stone  came  so  near  that  it  hit  the 
top  of  his  cowl.  And  when  the 
holy  man  remained  immovable  in 
prayer,  the  confounded  devil  fled 
howling  fearfully.' " 

*'  Theodore  of  Appaldia,  num.  171, 
without  expressing  a  doubt  about  it, 
selects  the  same  account  from  Ge- 
rard's collection;  and  although  the 
spot  where  it  took  place  is  not  spe- 
cified, still  the  Dominican  writers 
generally  state,  that  it  occurred  in 
St.  Sabine's  Church  at  Rome." 

"  Accordingly,  Malvenda,  in  his « 
Annals  of  the  year  1218,  c.  35, 
seasonably  advises  us,  'Pompeius 
Ugonius,  in  his  book  concerning  the 
Stations  of  the  City,  in  his  first  sta- 
tion tells  us,  that  the  marble  pave- 
ment was  split  and  shattered  into 
fragments  by  the  blow  of  the  devil's 
stone,  and  remained  visible  to  all, 
and  retained  the  evidence  of  the 
miracle  till  1586.  But  the  middle 
wall  of  the  church  having  been 
thrown  down  that  year,  as  we  have 
related  above,  and  the  pavement 
having  been  repaired  by  order  of 
Pope  Xistus,  the  careless  mercenary 
workmen  removed  the  broken  mar- 
ble, and  thus  destroyed  the  ancient 
record  of  the  miracle." 

"Afterwards  the  illustrious  Pom- 
peius gives  in  Italian  the  latest  no- 
tice of  the  memorable  stone,  which 
Malvenda,  in  the  last-cited  place 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


659 


citato  sic  fere  Latinam  reddit :  *  Nunc 
saxum  ipsum,  quod  dffiraon  in  sanc- 
tum Dominicum  jecit,  in  medio  ec- 
clesise  supi-a  columnellam  bicubita- 
lem  positum  revinctumque  cateh^ 
fen-ea,  no  quis  auferat,  visitur,  quod 
nos  s£Epe  conspeximus.  Est  nigri 
coloris,  rotundum,  et,  ut  remur,  pon- 
deris  quinquagiuta  librarum  existi- 
mamus  esse  ex  vetustis  Roraanorum 
ponderibus;  nam  multos  hujus  usus 
consimiles  lapides  Eomae  vidimus. '  " 
—  §  568. 


tlius  translates  into  Latin :  '  Now  is 
seen  the  very  stone  which  the  devil 
threw  at  Dominic,  placed  above  a 
column  two  cubits  high  in  the  midst 
of  the  church,  and  fastened  with  an 
iron  chain  to  prevent  its  removal, 
which  we  have  often  seen.  It  is  of 
a  black  color,  round,  and  as  we  cal- 
culate, about  fifty  pounds  weight, 
according  to  the  old  Roman  meas- 
ure ;  for  we  have  seen  many  similar 
stones  at  Rome.' " 


"Bollandi  Acta   Sanctorum,   Augusti,  torn.  i. 
Dominico  confessore,  die  quarta  Augusti." 


De    S. 


"  Adest  igitur  dies  Celebris  ut 
translatio  exiinii  doctoris  celebretur, 
etc.  accedit  pia  episcoporum  devo- 
tio,  accedunt  et  alii  .  .  .  Ablato  si- 
quidem  lapide,  ccepit  odor  quidara 
•  mirificus  ex  foramine  exhalare,  cu- 
jus  fragrantiH  adstantes  attoniti 
mirabantur,  quid  esset.  Removeri 
jubent  capsaj  tabulam;  et  ecce 
apotheca  unguentorum,  paradisus 
aromatum,  hortus  rosamm,  campus 
liliomm  et  violarum,  ac  omnium 
florum  suavitas  victa  perhibetur. 
Bononia  quondam  quod  plaustra  in- 
gredientia  tetrum  odorcm  fundant 
adveniente  rota  foctore  perfunditur; 
dum  gloriosi  Dominici  sepulchrum 
panditur,  odore  omnium  aromatum 
suavitate  vinccnte,  purificata  exhi- 
laratur.  Stupent  qui  aderant  et  stu- 
pore  perterriti  cadunt.  Hinc  ruunt 
dulces  flatus,  miscentur  et  gaudia; 
timor  et  spes  in  campo  animaj  con- 
surgunt,  movcntque  bella  mirifica, 
mirifici  odoris  suavitatem  sentientes. 
Sensimus  et  nos  hujus  odoris  dulce- 
dinem,  et  quae  vidimus  et  sensimus, 
haec  testamur;  nunquam  enim,  licet 


"  Therefore,  forasmuch  as  the  day 
has  come  for  celebrating  the  depart- 
ure of  the  excellent  doctor,  etc.,  the 
bishops  and  others  came  .  .  .  On 
removing  the  stone  a  wonderful 
odor  was  emitted  from  the  entrance, 
the  fragi-ance  of  which  excited  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  by- 
standers, as  to  what  it  was.  They 
ordered  the  top  of  the  coflin  to  be 
removed,  and  lo!  an  apothecary's 
shop  of  ointments,  a  paradise  of 
aromatics,  a  garden  of  roses,  a  field 
of  lilies  and  violets,  and  the  sweet- 
ness of  every  flower,  is  emitted  and 
excelled.  Once  Boulogne  was  in- 
undated with  a  bad  smell,  owing  to 
the  arrival  of  wagons  which  gave  it 
out;  but  while  the  grave  of  the  glo- 
rious Dominick  was  opened,  the 
odor  of  all  his  aromatics  gained  the 
upper  hand  by  their  sweetness. 
Those  that  are  present  are  aston- 
ished, and  fall  to  the  ground.  From 
this  place  sweet  gales  proceed,  and 
pleasures  are  communicated;  hope 
and  fear  of  soul  arise  in  this  field, 
and  extraordinary  contests  of  feeh 


660  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

diutius  juxta  corpus  eloquii  porti-  ing  are   excited  in  those  who  are 

toris  sancti  Dominici  studiose  steter-  sensible   of  the    sweetness   of  the 

imus,  poteramus  tanto  dulcore  sati-  wonderful  odor.     And  these  things 

ari.    Dulcor  ille  fastidium  expelle-  which  we  testify,  we  saw  and  were 

bat,  devotionem  ingerebat,  miracula  sensible  of.   .   .  .   The  sweetness  it- 

suscitabat.    Si  manu,  si  cingulo,  si  self  cast  out  pride,  produced  devo- 

aliqua    re    tangebatur   corpus,  per  tion,  provoked  marvels.    If  the  body 

tempus  prolixura  odor  ille  permane-  were  touched  with  the  hand,  with 

bat.    Delatum  est  corpus  ad  monu-  the  girdle,  or  with  any  other  thing, 

mentum  marmoreum,  cum  propriis  such   thing  retained   the   odor  for 

aromatibus    ibidem    recondendum.  some  time.      The    body  was  con 

Spirabat  odor  mirificus  ex  corpore  vej^ed  to  a  marble  monument,  with 

sancto,  ostendens  cunctis  dilucide,  proper  spices.     A  wonderful  odor 

quam  bonus  Christi  odor  hie  esset."  arose  from  the  sacred  body,  showing 

evidently  in  every  way  that  he  was 
the  good  odor  of  Christ." 

Now,  I  ask,  are  these  signs  and  wonders,  so  solemnly  and 
so  authentically  given,  from  the  same  mint  as  the  miracles 
of  Jesus  ?  Are  they,  in  any  sense  Dr.  Newman  may  attach 
to  the  word,  credible  ?  Is  not  the  narrative  alone  disproof 
of  their  truth  —  demonstration  of  imposture,  not  inspira- 
tion —  of  lying  wonders,  not  holy  miracles  ?  "We  might 
expect  them  as  antecedently  credible  respecting  the  "  man 
of  sin,"  but  in  no  respect  credible  as  credentials  or  acts  of 
the  Son  of  God.  Yet,  they  are  accepted  by  the  Church  of 
Rome  as  elements  of  her  resolution  to  canonize  the  workers 
of  them.  What  a  saint  was  the  ruthless  savage  Dominick, 
inciting  the  foundation  of  the  Inquisition !  What  a  saint 
was  Gregory  VII.,  an  ambitious  priest  attempting  at  any 
cost  to  subject  Europe  to  the  See  of  Rome  !  What  a  saint 
was  Thomas  h  Becket,  a  rebel  to  his  king,  and  a  traitor  to 
his  country !  What  a  saint  was  Pius  V.,  who  burned  more 
heretics  than  most  of  his  predecessors,  excommunicated 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  incited  her  subjects  to  rebellion! 
Some  of  those  saints  whose  miracles  I  have  quoted,  were 
fanatics,  some  were  fools,  and  others,  I  fear,  were  knaves. 
Their  so-called  miracles  are  lying  legends,  not  miracles  to 
be  received  as  the  works  of  the  omnipotence  of  God. 


ROMISH   3IIRACLES. 


661 


The  next  story  I  quote  is  one  respecting  St.  Lanrentius,, 
taken  from  "  Ilistorite  Ecclesiasticoe  gentis  Anglorum,  lib.  v.,, 
a  venerabili  Beda  presbytero  scriptas,  etc.  Cantabrigiae^ 
1644." 


"  Cum  vcro  Lanrentius,  Jlellitum 
Justumque  secnturus,  nc  Britanniam 
esset  relicturus,  jussit  ipsa  sibi  nocte 
in  Ecclesia  boatoruni  Apostolorum 
Petri  et  Pauli,  de  qua  frequenter 
jam  diximus,  stratum  parari:  in 
quo  cum  post  multas  preces  ac  lac- 
rymas  ad  Deum  pro  statu  Ecclesite 
fusas,  ad  quiescendum  membra  pos- 
uisset,  atque  obdormisset,  apparuit 
ei  beatissimus  Apostolorum  princeps, 
et  multo  ilium  tempore  secreta)  noc- 
tis  flagcllis  acrioribus  afficiens,  scis- 
citabatur  Apostolica  districtione, 
quare  gregem,  quem  sibi  ipse  credi- 
dcrat,  relinqueret,  vel  cui  oves  Clu-is- 
ti  in  medio  luponam  positas  fugieus 
ipse  demitteret?" 


"When  Lanrentius,  being  about: 
to  follow  Slellitum  and  Justus,  was- 
going  to  leave  Britain,  he  ordered  a. 
bed  to  be  prepared  for  him  in  the- 
Church  of  the  blessed  Apostles  Pe- 
ter and  Paul,  of  "which  wo  have; 
already  spoken.  In  which,  after 
pouring  out  many  prayers  and  tears 
before  God  for  the  state  of  the- 
Church,  when  he  had  composed' 
himself  to  rest  and  fallen  asleep,  the 
most  blessed  Peter,  Prince  of  the 
Apostles,  appeared  to  him,  and. 
scourged  him  with  sliarp  whips  fre- 
quently in  the  secret  night,  and 
asked  him  with  apostolic  severity,, 
why  he  left  the  flock  committed  to  ■ 
him,  or  why,  abandoning  the  sheep- 
of  Christ  amidst  wolves,  he  should, 
himself  run  away." 


In  other  words,  this  credible  miracle  is  the  record  that  the 
Apostle  Peter  came  down  to  a  saint  in  the  midst  of  the 
night,  £«*^ized  a  Avhip,  and  scourged  him  so  severely,  that  the 
bruiser?  were  visible  the  next  day. 


"An  nei,  inquit,  oblitus  es  exem- 
pli qui  pro  parvulis  Christi,  quos 
mihi  in  indicium  sure  dilectionis 
comK/*<idavci-at,  vincula,  verbera, 
carc*fes,  afllictiones,  ipsam  postre- 
mo  mortem  autem  crucis,  ab  infl- 
delibus  et  inimicis  Christi,  ipse  cum 
Christo  coronandus  pertuli?  His 
beati  Petri  flagellis  simul  et  ex- 
hortationibus  animatus  famulus 
Christi  Lanrentius  mox  mane  facto 
venit  ad  regem,  et  rellcto  vestimen- 
56 


"  Are  you  not  forgetful,  said  hej . 
of  my  example,  who  for   Christ's, 
tender  lambs,  which  he  commended 
to  me  in  token  of  his  love,  endured 
patiently   bonds,  stripes,  imprison- 
ments, afflictions,  and  lastly  even 
death  itself;  but  the  cross  to  whicli 
I  was  nailed  by  infidels  and  enemies  • 
of  Christ,  was  to  me  only  the  prep-  - 
aration  to  my  being  crowned  with; 
Christ '?    The  servant  of  God,  stirred! 
up  by  these  exhortations  and  scourg*- 


662 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


to,  quautis  esset  verbei-ibus  lacera- 
tus  ostendit.  Qui  multum  miratus 
et  inquirens,  quis  tan  to  viro  tales 
ausus  esset  plagas  infligere,  ut  audi- 
vit  quia  causa  suaj  salutis  Episco- 
pus  ab  apostolo  Christi  tanta  esset 
tormenta  plagasque  perpessus,  exti- 
muit  multum,  atque  anathematizato 
omui  idololatria3  cultu,  abdicato  con- 
nubio  non  legitimo,  suscepit  fidem 
Christi,  et  baptizatus  ecclesise  rebus 
quantum  valui  in  omnibus  consulere 
ac  faverc  curavit." 


ings,  went  to  the  king  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  taking  off  his  shirt  showed 
him  with  what  heavy  scourgings  he 
had  been  torn.  The  astonished  king 
demanded  who  had  dared  to  ad- 
minister such  stripes  on  so  great  a 
man;  but  as  soon  as  he  learned  that 
it  was  for  his  salvation  that  the 
Bishop  was  so  beaten  and  scourged 
by  the  Apostle  of  Christ,  he  was 
afraid,  and  abandoning  all  idolatry, 
and  giving  up  an  improper  connu- 
bial relationship,  he  embraced  the 
faith  of  Christ,  and  being  baptized, 
made  himself  useful  in  the  things  of 
the  church,  and  always  took  care  tc 
study  its  welfare,  and  to  befriend 
it." 


And  this  miracle  of  the  Apostle  Peter  coming  down  in  the 
night,  and  exercising  a  whip  upon  the  shoulders  of  a  saint, 
is  thought  by  Dr.  Newman  to  be  as  credible  as  the  miracles 
of  the  New  Testament ! 

The  next  miracles  I  quote  are  those  of  St.  Teresias,  who 
died  owing  to  the  intolerable  fire  of  divine  love  which  con- 
sumed her. 

The  Bull  of  Canonization  of  Teresias,  who  died  A.  d. 
1580,  and  was  canonized  in  the  year  1620  by  Gregory  XV., 
I  take  from  the  "  Bullarium  Magnum  Romanum."  "  Gre- 
gorius  Episcopus,  servus  servorum  Dei,  etc.  Omnipotens, 
sermo  Dei,  etc." 


"Aliquando  etiam  Angelum  vidit 
ignito  jaculo  sibi  prcecordia  trans- 
verberantem,  ex  quibus  calestibus 
donis  divini  amoris  flamma  in  ejus 
corde  adeo  exajstuabat,  ut  maxime 
arduum  votum  a  Deo  edocta  emiser- 
it,  efficiendi  semper  quicquid  per- 
fectius  esse  et  ad  majorem  Dei  glo- 
riam  pertinere  intelligeret.  Quine- 
tiam  post  mortem  cuidam  moniali 


"  Sometimes,  also,  she  saw  an 
angel  piercing  her  entrails  with  a 
burning  dart,  from  which  divine 
gifts  she  so  burned  with  the  flame 
of  divine  love,  that  she  emitted  the 
most  arduous  vow  to  do  always 
whatever  she  might  understand  to 
be  more  perfect,  and  to  the  greater 
glory  of  God.  Also  after  her  death 
she  revealed  in  a  vision,  to  a  certaiu 


ROMISH   MIRACLES. 


663 


per  visum  manifcstavit,  se  non  vi 
morbi,  sed  ex  intolerabili  divini 
amoris  incendio  Tita  excessisse." 


monk,  that  she  died  not  by  the  vio- 
lence of  disease,  but  by  the  insuffer- 
able burninsr  of  divine  love." 


St.  Maria  Magdalena  de  Pazzi  bathed  her  hands  and 
arms  in  cold  water,  and  drank  most  copiously  of  it  under 
the  influence  of  divine  love  to  cool  the  JEtna  within  her,  as 
will  appear  from  her  Bull  of  Canonization.  "Bullarium 
Magnum  Romanum."  She  died  A.  d.  1G07,  and  was  canon- 
ized by  Clement  X.,  a.d.  1670. 


"  Praiterca  cum  aeterno  Patre  eo- 
dem  anno  admirandura  habuit  col- 
loquium dc  modo  adornandi  animam 
ante  suraptionem  sanctissimai  Eu- 
charistiaj;  atque  his  profusre  in  se 
divinitatis  muneribus  ad  illud  amoris 
incendium  evasit,  ut  interdum  ex- 
clamaret,  *  0  amor,  te  amplius  ferre 
non  possum.  Amor  in  te  revertere ; 
tanti  amoris  incapax  ego  sum.'  Ex- 
inde  ad  gelidum  foutem  vel  ad  putei 
crepidinem  manus  et  brachia  uudis 
mergebat,  easdem  potabat  avidis- 
sime,  marium  opiosa  aspei-gine  pec- 
toris JEtnam  refrigerabat." 


"  ]Moreover,  she  had  with  the 
eternal  Father  in  the  same  year  a 
valuable  discourse  as  to  the  manner 
of  preparing  the  soul  before  partak- 
ing of  the  most  holy  Eucharist ;  and 
from  these  gifts  of  a  profuse  divinity 
in  herself,  she  rose  to  that  heat  of 
love  that  she  exclaimed,  '  0  love,  I 
cannot  bear  it  longer.  0  love,  retire 
into  thyself,  I  am  not  capable  of  so 
great  love.'  Theu  she  went  to  a 
fountain  or  well,  and  dipt  her  arms 
and  hands  in  water,  and  drank  most 
greedily,  and  cooled  the  iEtna  of  her 
soul  with  copious  ablutions." 


Conceive  now  a  person  having  such  love  in  the  heart, 
that,  love  within  being  capable  of  being  cooled  by  water 
applied  without,  she  is  obliged  to  bathe  in  cold  water,  and 
drink  copiously  of  it,  in  order  to  cool  that  love ;  and  yet 
this  is  one  of  Dr.  Newman's  saints  and  miracle  workers. 


"  Continuavit  etiam  suavissimi 
odoris  ex  singulis  membris,  sed 
pra?cipuo  et  acutius  ex  stomacho, 
fragrantia  tarn  mira  suaveolentia,  ut 
ei  nee  liquorum,  nee  florum,  aut 
aromatum  odores  comparari  queant ; 
adeo  ut  plurium  medicorum  asser- 
tione  et  testimonio  constct,  non  nisi 
divinitus  prodire  ex  illo  virginco  cor- 


"  There  continued  also  the  fra- 
grance of  the  sweetest  scent  from  all 
her  limbs ;  but  most  perceptibly  and 
acutely  from  her  stomach  such  a 
sweetness  of  scent,  that  neither  the 
odors  of  liqueurs,  nor  flowers,  nor 
aromatics  could  be  compared  to  it; 
so  much  so,  that  it  is  evident,  from 
tlie  assertion  and  testimony  of  medi- 


664 


ROMISH   3IIRACLES. 


pusculo  talera  fragrantiam,  quse  ad- 
huc  longe  suavius  emanavit  cum 
anno  Domini  millesimo  sexcentesi- 
mo  sexagesimo  tertio  pro  solemn! 
canonizatione  exaratus  fuit  proces- 
sus."—  Ibid. 


cal  men,  that  sucli  an  odor  could 
not  emanate  from  her  virgin  body, 
unless  by  divine  power,  which  only 
the  more  sweetly  issued  in  1663, 
when  the  process  for  her  solemn 
canonization  was  begun." 


This  scent  thus  lasted  fifty-six  years. 

Lewis  of  Claremont,  who  had  lost  his  sense  of  smellin<y 
from  the  time  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  recovered  it  through 
the  sweet  odor  which  emanated  from  the  corpse  of  St.  Ray- 
mond of  Pennafort,  as  will  appear  from  the  following 
extract  from  the  "Bullarium  Magnum  Romanum."  This 
saint  died  A.  d.  1275.  He  was  canonized  by  Clement 
VIIL  A.D.  1601. 


"  Clemens  Episcopus,  ser%Tis  ser- 
vorum  Dei,  etc.  Romana  CathoHca 
Ecclesia,  etc. 

"  Anno  itidem  millesimo  quingen- 
tesimo  nonagesimo  sexto,  cum  ju- 
dices  constltuti  ad  explorandas  bea- 
ti  hujus  viri  reliquias,  arcam  ubi 
erant  reconditoe  apernissent,  tantus 
illico  odor  ex  ejus  corpore,  qu.i  viv- 
ens  in  odorem  suavitatis  Deo  se  con- 
secraverat,  exhalavit,  ut  multi  qui 
eo  confluxerant,  nihil  eo  percipi 
posse  jucundius  aflSrraarent;  quini- 
mo  egi-egius  vir  Ludovicus  de 
Claremont  ex  gravi  morbo  sensu 
odoratus  a  sexdecim  annis  orbatus, 
cum  in  ea  hominum  multitudine 
videndi  desiderio  incitatus,  propius 
accessisset,  eum  etiam  odorem  sua- 
vissimum  sensit;  quo  I'epente  ita 
recreatus  est,  ut  lacryraas  prse  gau- 
dio  continere,  nee  ullam  vocem 
emittere  ullo  modo  posset;  verum 
tacitus  apud  se  cogitans  dubitabat, 
cum  istius  solummodo  odoris  olfac- 
tum  rccuperasset,  an  etiam  i-erum 
aliarum.    Sod  domura  re  versus,  ubi 


"  Clement  Bishop,  servant  of  the 
servants  of  God,  etc. 

"  Likewise  in  the  year  1659, 
when  the  judges  who  were  appoint- 
ed to  examine  the  remains  of  this 
blessed  man,  opened  the  tomb  where 
they  were  buried,  immediately  so 
great  an  odor  vras  exhaled  from  the 
body  of  him,  who  whilst  living  had 
consecrated  himself  as  a  sweet  savor 
unto  God,  that  many  who  flocked  to 
the  place  declared  that  nothing 
sweeter  could  be  conceived;  and, 
what  is  more,  when  that  eminent 
man,  Lewis  of  Claremont,  who  had 
been  depi'ived  by  a  severe  disease  of 
his  sense  of  smell  from  the  age  of 
sixteen,  attracted  by  curiosity,  ap- 
proached the  place  with  the  multi 
tude,  he  also  smelt  the  delightful 
odor;  by  which  he  was  so  suddenly 
cured,  that  he  shed  tears  of  joy,  and 
was  unable  to  speak ;  but  wondered 
in  silent  thought  whether  he  had 
only  recovered  his  sense  of  smell  aa 
far  as  this  odor  was  concerned,  or 


KOMISH   MIRACLES.  665 

ge  varios  odores  percipere  animad-  whether  it  was  completely  restored 
vertit,  miraculura  subito  evulgavit."    to  him.    But  on  returning  to  his 

home,  and  discovering  that  he 
could  perceive  various  odors,  he 
immediately  proclaimed  the  mira- 
cle." 

This  scent  lasted,  therefore,  three  hundred  and  twenty-one 
years.  Another  of  tliose  "  lying  wonders  "  that  Dr.  New- 
man considers  to  be  antecedently  credible. 

Cardinal  "Wiseman  —  [Some  one  in  the  body  of  the 
Town  Hall  here  objected  to  the  title  "  Cardinal,"  upon 
which  Dr.  Cumming  said :]  A  cardinal  is  a  temporal  officer 
of  the  Church  of  Rome.  He  may  be  a  layman,  he  is  not 
necessarily  a  priest.  Dr.  Wiseman  is  not  Archbishop  of 
Westminster.  I  say,  the  Pope  can  make  him  an  arch- 
bishop, but  only  the  Queen  of  England  can  constitute  him 
Archbishop  of  Westminster,  which  has  been  refused.  But 
I  do  not  think  I  commit  myself  in  the  least  when  I  call  him 
a  cardinal,  because  he  is  an  officer  of  the  Pope,  known  by 
that  name.  Whether  a  cardinal  ought  to  be  here  or  not,  is 
quite  another  thing.  But,  if  it  will  be  more  consonant  with 
the  feelings  of  the  evidently  rightminded  gentleman  who 
has  just  interrupted  me,  I  will  call  him  "  Dr.  Wiseman." 

Dr.  Wiseman  has  edited  a  book  called  "  Lives  of  St.  Al- 
phonsus  Liguori,  St.  Francis  de  Girolamo,  St.  John  Joseph 
of  the  Cross,  St.  Pacificus  of  San  Severino,  and  St.  Veron- 
ica Giuliani,  whose  canonization  took  place  on  Trinity  Sun- 
day, May  2Gth,  1839." 

In  the  life  of  St.  Joseph  of  the  Cross,  he  gives  us  the 
furniture  of  his  cell,  (p.  144,)  —  "A  rough  seat  and  a  table, 
a  bed,  consisting  of  two  narrow  planks,  with  two  sheepskins 
and  a  wretched  woollen  coverlet,  a  stool  to  rest  his  wounded 
legs  upon ;  these,  with  his  Breviary,  formed  the  whole  furni- 
ture of  his  cell."  There  is  no  mention,  you  see,  of  that 
book  which  you  would  have  thought  would  certainly  have 
been  in  a  minister's  cell,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Bible. 
56* 


666  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

"  In  reward  for  liis  virginal  purity,  which  he  preserved  up- 
spotted  from  his  baptism,  as  his  confessor  afterwards  attested, 
Ood  caused  his  person,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman,  "  in  spite  of  his 
,age,  infirmities,  and  constant  sores,  to  diffuse  a  sweet  and 
-delicious  perfume."  Again,  he  says  this  saint  had  the 
"custom  of  frequently  kissing  the  hands  of  priests."  And 
liere  is  a  very  remarkable  instance  of  his  want  of  sincerity, 
—  "  Not  unfrequently  he  desired  those  whom  he  restored  to 
health,  to  take  some  certain  medicine,  that  the  cure  might  be 
.attributed  to  a  mere  natural  remedy."  In  other  words,  he 
concealed  his  miracles  by  lies.  He  was  so  modest,  that  he 
lied  rather  than  expose  himself  to  praise.  If  it  was  a 
miracle,  he  should  have  said  so  ;  if  it  was  not  a  miracle,  he 
should  have  admitted  it ;  but  to  have  it  here  recorded  as  a 
miracle,  and  the  saint,  knowing  it  was  a  miracle,  out  of 
humility  desiring  the  recipient  to  say  the  cure  resulted  from 
jmedicine,  is  to  invest  the  saint  with  the  faculty  of  telling 
lies  as  well  as  the  power  of  doing  miracles. 

Next  he  describes  St.  Veronica  Giuliani,  —  and  really  I 
-am  surprised  that  Dr.  Wiseman  ever  could  have  committed 
himself  to  his  almost  blasphemous  descriptions  of  what  she 
was.  At  p.  247,  he  tells  us,  "  God  recompensed  her  readi- 
aiess  to  drink  the  chalice  of  sufferings,  by  making  her  a  par- 
-taker  of  the  torments  of  his  passion.  On  the  4th  of  April, 
1649,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  he  appeared  to  her,  and 
presented  her  with  his  crown  of  thorns.  In  obedience  to  her 
confessor,  she  thus  describes  her  vision :  *  On  the  4th  of 
April,  whilst  I  was  in  prayer  during  the  night,  I  fell  into  a 
jeverie,  and  in  it  had  an  intellectual  vision,  wherein  our 
Lord  appeared  to  me,  with  a  large  crown  of  thorns  upon  his 
iJiead.  Immediately  I  cried  out,  "  My  Spouse,  give  me  a 
part  of  these  thorns ;  I  deserve  them,  not  thou,  my  Sove- 
^3ign  Good."  I  heard  him  reply,  "  I  am  now  come  to  crown 
thee,  my  beloved ;  "  and  then  he  took  the  crown  off  his  head, 
and  placed  it  upon  mine.     Tlie  pain  I  suffered,  at  that 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  667 

instant,  was  so  excessive,  tliat  I  have  never,  as  far  as  I  can 
understand,  suffered  any  thing  like  it.  It  is  true,  that  at 
that  time  it  was  made  known  to  me,  that  this  crowning  was 
a  manifest  sign  that  I  was  to  be  espoused  to  the  Lord  ;  and 
that,  for  this  reason,  he  wished  me  to  share  in  all  his  tor- 
ments, so  that  I  might  be  called  the  spouse  of  God  crucified, 
and  therefore  I  also  was  to  be  crucified  with  my  divine 
spouse.' "  This  is  Dr.  Wiseman's  record  of  what  she  said, 
and  he  gives  it  as  a  model  of  what  you  are  to  imitate, 
instead  of  the  saints  in  the  New  Testament,  who  are  to  be 
followed  as  they  followed  Christ.  She  proceeds,  as  stated  by 
Dr.  Wiseman,  to  say,  "  Every  thorn  that  I  felt  in  my  head 
was  a  fresh  invitation  to  me.  On  the  same  day,  I  was  prom- 
ised all  the  renewals  of  this  crowning.  But  it  seemed  to  me 
that  such  suffering  was  a  great  joy  to  me ;  I  felt  as  if  I 
should  die,  if  I  had  not  some  torment  to  undergo." 

In  another  part  of  this  volume,  (p.  251,)  Dr.  Wiseman 
records  her  sayings  as  follows :  " '  While  I  was  one  morning 
at  mass,  suddenly  an  application  came  upon  me.  During 
the  course  of  it,  I  felt  certain  touches  in  my  heart,  which 
excited  me  to  a  strong  desire  of  uniting  myself  wholly  to 
God.  On  a  sudden  it  seems  to  me  that  God  took  me  out  of 
my  senses,  and,  by  communication,  gave  me  to  know,  ah 
intra,  that  he  wished  to  be  espoused  to  me.  This  news 
made  my  heart  leap  anew,  and  I  felt  it  burning  within  me. 
With  this  excitement  was  displayed  to  me  all  that  I  was  to 
do,  in  order  to  make  due  preparations  for  it ;  and  in  this 
interval  I  received  light  to  know  that  all  this  preparation 
was  to  be  of  pure  suffering.'  She  protests,"  says  Dr.  Wise- 
man, "  that  after  this  vision,  the  simple  words,  *  My  Divine 
Jesus,  spouse  of  my  soul,'  filled  her  heart  with  indescribable 
joy,  and  that  she  went  on  repeating  them,  hke  a  rosary,  the 
same  number  of  times  that  the  angelical  salutation  is  therein 
repeated.  She  adds,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman,  "  that,  in  inviting 
her  to  His  marriage,  Jesus  frequently  appeared  in  the  form 


668  KOMISH   MIRACLES. 

of  a  beautiful  infant ;  and  on  the  Feast  of  the  Circumcision, 
1694,  intimated  to  her  that  her  preparation  for  it  was  to  be 
by  all  kinds  of  sufferings.  During  the  month  of  March, 
she  was  troubled  with  great  desolation  and  spiritual  dryness. 
But  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  that  month,  our  Lord  com- 
forted her  by  showing  her  with  what  delight  He  looked  upon 
a  beautiful  jewel,  fixed  in  the  wound  of  His  sacred  side ;  and 
telling  her  that  it  had  been  formed  of  all  the  sufferings  she 
had  undergone  for  His  sake.  She  offered  herself,"  says  Dr. 
Wiseman,  "  anew  to  be  crucified  with  Him,  and  He  seemed 
to  stoop  down  and  embrace  her  soul,  giving  it  a  kiss  of  love. 

*  When  we  return  to  ourselves,'  she  concludes,  *  after  these 
communications,  we  understand,  in  the  most  lively  manner, 
the  value  of  suffering,  and  the  treasure  which  lies  concealed 
amid  contempt,  disgrace,  and  humiliations.  These  are  the 
lessons  to  be  learned  in  this  school  of  divine  love.'  Two 
days  previous,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman,  "on  the  Feast  of  the 
Annunciation,  our  blessed  Lady  was  pleased  to  prepare  her 
for  her  espousals.  This  was  by  an  intellectual  vision,  as  she 
calls  such  in  her  writings,  wherein  she  beheld  the  great 
Queen  of  Angels  upon  a  magnificent  throne,  accompanied 
by  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna,  and  St.  Rose  of  Lima,"  of 
whom  I  have  given  you  some  specimens.  "  To  their  prayer, 
that  she  would  consent  to  the  espousal  of  her  servant  with 
her  divine  Son,  our  Lady  sweetly  replied,  that  they  should 
be  brought  about.  Veronica,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman,  "  saw  in 
her  hands  a  beautiful  ring,  intended,  she  was  told,  for  her. 

*  And  then,  turning  to  these  saints,'  she  adds,  *  it  seemed  to 
me  that  our  Lady  told  me  that  I  must  imitate  them  in  the 
most  heroic  virtues,  especially  in  humility,  charity,  and 
knowledge  of  myself.  As  she  said  this,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  she  communicated  these  virtues  to  me  ab  intra,  and  the 
precious  treasure  that  lies  hid  in  them.  .  .  .  From  that  day 
till  now,  I  have  been,  as  it  were,  out  of  myself,  and  I  have 
ever  had  this  intimate  presence  of  God.'     During  Lent," 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  669 

Bays  Dr.  "Wiseman,  "  she  practised  the  most  cruel  mortifi- 
cations and  austerities ;  and  on  Holy  Saturday  —  which  in 
that  year  fell  upon  the  tenth  of  April  —  our  Lord  appeared 
to  her ;  and  showing  her  the  nuptial  ring,  invited  her  to  His 
marriage  on  the  following  day.  As  a  proof  of  the  reality 
of  these  supernatural  visions,  let  the  reader,"  says  Dr.  Wise- 
man, "  observe  their  effects.  ^  Here  it  was  again  made 
known  to  me,'  she  writes,  *  that  for  this  purpose  a  complete 
renewal  of  my  soul  was  required.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
our  Lord  gave  me  a  new  rule  of  living  with  greater  aus- 
terity ;  of  greater  silence ;  of  working  with  greater  fervor 
and  love ;  of  doing  all  things  with  purity  of  intention,  and 
in  His  honor  of  refusing  to  gratify  any  natural  incUnation, 
and  embracing  quite  the  opposite ;  of  flying  human  praises, 
and  loving  contempt  and  mortification  ;  of  being  in  all  things 
a  lover  of  the  cross,  and  to  hold  it  in  my  hand  as  a  strong 
shield  of  defence ;  of  being  crucified  in  every  thing,  and  of 
laboring  to  attain  all  that  is  of  the  highest  perfection.* 
During  the  night,"  says  Dr.  "Wiseman,  "  she  had  three 
visions;  in  the  first  of  which  Jesus  seemed  to  enter  her 
heart,  and  to  cast  out  of  it  what  the  saint,  in  her  humility, 
calls  *  earthly  things,  begrimed  with  self-love,  and  disgusting 
to  the  smell,  —  such  as  human  respects,  and  all  imperfections 
that  could  impede  my  advancement.'  In  the  two  following 
visions,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman,  "  He  seemed  to  adorn  her  soul 
with  rich  furniture,  w'hich  He  told  her  were  His  own  divine 
merits,  given  to  her  as  her  dowry.  When  the  time  of  com- 
munion arrived,  she  felt  herself  more  than  ever  inflamed 
with  heavenly  love.  As  she  approached  the  altar,  she  heard 
the  angels  singing  in  sweetest  melody,  Ve7ii  Sponsa  CJiristi  ; 
then,  being  rapt  out  of  her  senses,  she  beheld  two  magnifi- 
cent thrones ;  that  on  the  right  hand,  of  gold,  decorated 
with  the  most  splendid  jewels,  whereupon  was  seated  our 
blessed  Lord,  with  his  wounds  shining  brighter  than  the 
sun ;  the  other  formed  of  alabaster   of  purest   whiteness, 


670  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

and  brilliant  with  gems,  and  thereupon  was  seated  our 
blessed  Lady,  in  a  white  mantle  of  surpassing  richness, 
who  besought  her  son  to  hasten  His  marriage.  Innumer- 
able were  the  multitudes  of  the  heavenly  court,  in  the 
midst  whereof  were  the  holy  virgins,  St.  Catharine  and  St. 
Rose,  the  former  of  whom  intimated  to  Veronica  what 
she  was  to  do  in  that  most  august  solemnity.  They  con- 
ducted her  slowly  to  the  thrones,  and  at  the  foot  thereof  put 
upon  her,  over  her  religious  habit,  various  robes,  each  sur- 
passing the  other  in  splendor.  As  she  approached  the  throne 
of  Christ,  whose  garments  she  knows  not,  she  says,  how  to 
describe,  she  beheld  in  each  of  His  wounds  a  beautiful  gem, 
but  from  that  in  his  side,  which  was  open,  rays  more  bright 
than  the  sun  darted  on  every  side.  In  it  she  seemed  to 
perceive  the  nuptial  ring.  When  He  raised  up  His  hand 
to  bless  her,  He  entoned  the  words,  Veni  Sponsa  Christi, 
and  our  Lady  with  the  whole  court,  taking  them  up,  con- 
tinued, Accipe  coronam,  quam  tiU  Dominus  prceparavit  in 
ceternwn.  St.  Catharine  then  took  off  her  rich  attire,  leav- 
ing only  her  religious  habit,  to  show,  the  saint  intimates,  its 
value  in  the  eyes  of  God,  being  allowed  to  appear  in  that 
glorious  assembly.  After  remaining  in  this  dress  for  a 
short  time,  our  Lord  made  a  sign  to  His  blessed  mother  to 
clothe  her  with  the  nuptial  garment.  It  was  a  magnificent 
mantle,  covered  with  gems,  and  appeared  of  different  colors. 
Our  Lady  gave  it  to  St.  Catharine,  who  put  it  upon  Veron- 
ica, and  placed  her  between  the  two  thrones.  Then,  feeling 
herself  more  than  ever  pierced  with  love,  she  saw  our  Lord 
take  the  ring  out  of  His  side,  and  give  it  to  the  mother. 
'  This  ring,'  she  writes,  '  shone  with  splendor.  It  appeared 
to  me  to  be  made  of  gold,  but  all  wrought  in  enamel,  which 
formed  in  the  stone  the  name  of  the  good  Jesus.  .  .  .  From 
time  to  time  I  gave  looks  of  love  towards  my  Lord,  and 
seemed  to  address  Him,  urging  Him  to  come  to  the 
espousals.'    The    heavenly    queen,"   says    Dr.   Wiseman, 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  671 

"  commanded  her  to  stretch  out  her  hand  to  St.  Catharine, 
which  Jesus  took,  *  and  at  that  moment/  she  writes,  *  I  felt 
myself  united  more  closely  than  ever  with  Him.  Together 
with  Mary  ever  blessed,  He  placed  the  ring  upon  my  finger, 
and  then  blessed  it.'  In  that  instant,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman, 
"heaven  again  resounded  with  the  songs  of  the  angelic 
choir,  after  which  her  Divine  Spouse  gave  her  new  rules  of 
perfection,  which  were,  she  tells  us,  to  remain  wholly  dead 
to  her  own  will,  and  to  live  as  if  there  were  nothing  else  in 
the  world  but  himself  and  her  own  soul ;  that  she  should 
increase  her  fasting  and  be  more  rigorous  in  her  mortifica- 
tions, and  crucified  in  every  thing.  During  tliis  he  told  her 
he  would  be  entirely  hers.  Thus  ended,"  continues  Dr. 
"Wiseman,  "  this  mystic  ceremony  of  her  espousals ;  all  of 
which  she  saw,  she  informs  us,  with  the  eyes  of  the  soul,  not 
of  the  body.  She  adds,  that  nearly  at  every  communion,  the 
same  marriage  was  renewed ;  and  that  the  ring  remained 
upon  her  finger,  and  on  communion  days  seemed  to  be 
pressed  tighter  round  it.  It  was  seen  also  by  the  nuns 
several  times ;  and  sister  Mary  Spaciani  attests  that  she 
saw  it  once,  during  her  noviciate,  distinctly  with  her  own 
eyes.  *  It  was  like  a  circle  all  round  the  ring  finger,'  to  use 
her  own  words,  '  at  the  very  spot  on  which  the  ring  is 
usually  worn.     Above,  it  was  like  a  raised  gem,  of  about 

the  size  of  a  pea,  of  a  vermilion  color When  I 

addressed  her,  on  such  occasions,  she  never  gave  me  an 
answer  to  the  point ;  but  the  most  wonderful  circumstance 
is,  that  when  I  looked  at  her  hand,  a  few  hours  afterwards, 
the  mark  was  gone,  and  the  gem,  in  like  manner,  had  dis- 
appeared :  and  then  she  answered  every  question  I  put  to 
her  correctly.'  In  the  processes,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman,  "  two 
other  rings  are  mentioned  as  having  been  given  to  her  at 
the  espousals,  and  the  renewals  of  them,  —  the  ring  of  love, 
and  the  ring  of  the  cross.  She  received  likewise  another 
when  they  were  renewed  on  Easter  Day,  1697,  which  was 


672  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

enriclied,  according  to  her  own  account,  with  three  gems,  on 
one  of  which  were  engraven  two  hearts,  joined  so  as  to  appear 
but  one ;  on  the  other,  the  figure  of  the  cross ;  on  the  third, 
the  instruments  of  the  Passion.  The  first  of  them,  Jesus 
told  her,  indicated  the  union  of  his  heart  with  hers ;  the 
second,  his  dowry  of  union  with  her  soul;  and  the  third, 
the  remembrance  sh/3  was  to  have  of  his  sufferings." 

Again,  I  will  give  you  another  extract  (p.  261)  :  "On 
Christmas  eve  she  made  an  incision  upon  her  heart  in  the 
form  of  a  cross  with  a  penknife.  With  the  blood,  which 
issued  from  it,  she  wrote  a  fervent  protestation  of  love,  and 
a  dedication  of  her  will  to  her  infant  Saviour.  Four  other 
writings,  of  the  same  kind,  made  during  the  course  of  that 
and  the  following  year,  (1697,)  all  breathe  the  same  feelings 
of  consecration  of  her  will  to  Jesus,  and  especially  of  ardent 
charity  and  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  her  neighbors,  whose 
mediatrix  she  had  promised  to  be.  In  one  of  them,  she 
writes,  'I  intend- at  this  moment  to  confirm  all  the  protesta- 
tions which  I  have  made  with  my  own  blood,  and  anew  I 
make  myself  the  mediatrix  between  you  and  sinners.  Lo ! 
I  am  ready  to  give  my  life  and  blood  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  Holy  Faith.  O  my 
God !  with  your  heart,  with  your  love,  I  make  this  invita- 
tion. O  souls  redeemed  with  the  blood  of  Jesus,  I  speak 
to  you  ;  O  sinners,  come  all  to  the  heart  of  Jesus,  to  the 
fountain,  to  the  boundless  sea  of  his  love.  Come,  all  of 
you,  men  and  women,  come  all,  leave  sin  ;  come  to  Jesus ! ' 
Her  loving  spouse,"  continues  Dr.  Wiseman,  "rewarded 
her  constancy  and  love,  by  the  wound  which  he  made  in 
her  heart,  on  the  feast  of  his  blessed  nativity  in  that  year 
(1696).  'I  seemed  to  see,'  she  writes,  Mn  the  hand  of  the 
Holy  Infant,  a  rod  of  gold,  at  the  point  of  which  was,  as  it 
were,  a  flame  of  fire,  and  at  the  foot,  a  small  piece  of  iron, 
like  a  little  lance ;  and  he  placed  this  rod  against  his  own 
heart,  and  the  point  of  the  lance  in  my  heart,  and  it  seemed 


ROMISH   MIRACLES,  678 

that  I  felt  my  heart  pierced  through  and  through.  In  an 
instant,  I  saw  nothing  in  his  hand ;  but  full  of  grace  and 
beauty  he  invited  me  to  love  him,  and  by  way  of  communi- 
cation, he  made  me  understand  that  he  had  bound  me  to 
himself  by  a  closer  tie.  I  understood  many  things,  but  at 
present  I  do  not  remember  them  distinctly,  and  therefore  I 
do  not  write  them.'  Through  modesty,"  says  Dr.  Wiseman, 
"  she  abstained  from  looking  at  the  wound,  but  she  put  a 
linen  cloth  upon  it,  which  was  immediately  covered  with 
blood.  Her  confessor  ordered  her  to  examine  it,  and  she 
found  it  open,  and  observed  that  it  was  large  enough  to 
admit  the  blade  of  a  good  sized  knife.  It  was  also  examined 
by  several  of  her  companions,  and  confessors,  as  it  is  attested 
in  the  processes.  On  Good  Friday,  the  5th  of  April,  1697, 
she  received  those  rich  pledges  of  love,  which  were  vouch- 
safed to  the  seraphic  St.  Francis,"  of  whom  I  shall  give  you 
an  account  presently,  "  St.  Catharine,  and  other  saints  ;  for 
our  Lord,  after  having  previously  foretold  these  graces,  and 
after  displaying  his  mercies  in  other  ways  to  her,  was 
pleased  to  imprint  upon  her  hands  and  feet  the  stigmata  or 
wounds  of  his  most  sacred  passion.  These  wounds  were 
afterwards  renewed  upon  several  other  occasions,  and  their 
reality  was  made  known  to  many  persons.  For  the  Tribu- 
nal of  the  Holy  Office  at  Rome,  having  received  informa- 
tion thereof,  ordered  the  bishop  of  the  city  to  make  au 
inquiry  into  the  truth  of  the  report.  He  repaired  to  the 
gate  of  the  convent  with  several  other  ecclesiastics,  who 
severally  saw  the  wounds  which  her  blessed  Spouse  had 
made.  Those  in  the  hands  and  feet,  as  Florida  Coeli  and 
other  sisters  attest,  were  on  the  upper  side  round,  and  about 
the  size  of  a  farthing,  but  less  on  the  under-side,  deep  and 
red  when  open,  and  covered  with  a  thin  cicatrix  or  crust, 
when  closed.  The  wound  in  the  left  side,  above  the  left 
breast,  was  between  four  and  five  fingers  in  length,  and 
about  one  finger  broad  in  the  middle,  growing  thinner 
57 


674  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

towards  the  two  extremities,  exactly  like  the  wound  of  a 
lance."  Dr.  Wiseman  further  tells  us,  (at  p.  265,)  that 
"  besides  the  chalice,  and  thorny  crown,  and  live  principal 
wounds,  Jesus  imparted  to  her,  as  a  signal  mark  of  his 
affection,  a  participation  in  all  the  other  sufferings  of  his 
passion."  Afterwards,  (at  p.  269,)  Dr.  Wiseman  informs 
us,  "Veronica  foretold  that  twenty-four  marks  would  be 
found  engraven  upon  her  heart ;  and,  by  the  order  of  her 
confessor,  she  described  the  exact  form  and  disposition  of 
them,  by  cutting  them  out  in  red  and  white  paper ;  and, 
after  her  death,  they  were  found  to  correspond  in  every 
particular  with  the  account  and  picture  which  she  had  made 
of  them.  They  were  as  follows  :  a  Latin  cross  with  a  C  in 
the  top  of  the  tipright  piece ;  the  centre  of  the  transverse  an 
F ;  in  the  right  point  of  the  transverse  a  V ;  and  in  the 
left  an  O.  Above  the  cross  was,  on  one  side,  a  crown  of 
thorns ;  on  the  left  of  which  was  a  banner  upon  a  staff, 
which  passed  transversely  over  the  cross,  and  the  flag  of 
the  banner  was  divided  into  two  tongues,  on  the  upper  of 
which  was  a  large  I,  and  on  the  lower  an  m  in  running 
hand.  At  the  top  of  the  banner  was  a  flame,  and,  lower 
down,  a  hammer,  a  pair  of  pincers,  a  lance,  and  a  reed  with  a 
sponge  represented  upon  the  top.  On  the  right  of  the  cross, 
beginning  from  above,  was  a  small  garment,  to  represent 
the  seamless  vest  of  our  Lord,  another  flame,  a  chalice,  two 
wounds,  a  column,  three  nails,  a  scourge,  and  seven  swords ; 
with  the  letters  P.  P.  V.  on  other  parts  of  the  heart.  All 
these  marks  were  exactly  described  by  her  upon  paper, 
which  being  compared  with  her  heart  soon  after  death,  were 
found  to  agree  in  every  particular.  Her  confessor  attests 
that  the  meaning  of  the  above  letters  and  emblems  is  —  the 
seven  swords  are  the  seven  dolors  of  Mary ;  the  banner, 
the  ensign  of  her  victories  over  the  devil,  the  world,  and 
herself;  the  two  letters,  I  (J)  and  m^  Jesus  and  Mary ;  C, 
Charity ;  F,  Faith  and  Fidehty  to  God ;  O,  Obedience ;  the 


ROMISH    MIRACLES.  675 

two  W,  Humility  and  the  Will  of  God  (Umilta,  and 
Volonta  di  Dio)  ;  PP,  Patience  and  Suflfering  (Patire)  ; 
the  two  flames,  the  love  of  God  and  her  neighbor." 

The  next  miraculous  stories  I  shall  refer  to  are  those 
told  concerning  blessed  St.  Francis.  This  little  book  which 
I  have  in  my  hand,  called  "  Elogia  in  S.  Patrem  Francis- 
cura,"  and  published  at  Antwerp  in  1646,  contains  about 
fifty  engravings,  representing  different  miraculous  acts  in 
the  life  of  St.  Francis.  In  one,  for  instance,  he  is  described 
as  a  little  boy,  whom  a  nobleman  recognized  as  an  infant 
saint,  and  therefore  spread  his  mantle  before  him  to  walk 
upon.  At  another  time  St.  Francis  kissed  a  leper,  and  thus 
instantly  cured  him  of  his  leprosy.  AV'e  have  another  en- 
graving, representing  him  kneeling  before  a  crucifix,  from 
which  a  voice  proceeds,  directing  him  de  reparandd  ecclesid, 
to  restore  the  church.  He  is  then  represented  as  stripping 
himself  of  his  clothes,  and  giving  them  to  his  father.  Then 
we  have  a  picture  representing  Christ  giving  to  St.  Francis, 
who  is  kneeling  before  him,  a  book,  the  foot  note  being  to 
the  following  effect :  Orat  et  accipit  a  Christo  regulam.  The 
Pope,  according  to  the  next  engraving,  approves  of  the 
book  which  he  had  received,  and  St.  Francis  is  represented 
in  the  background,  supporting  with  his  hands  a  tottering 
edifice,  that  is,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  We  then  have 
St.  Francis  appearing  to  the  brothers  of  his  order  in  a 
vision,  in  a  chariot  of  fire  drawn  by  two  horses,  the  foot 
note  to  the  engraving  being,  S.  Franciscus  apparet  fratribus 
in  civrru  igneo.  The  next  picture  shows  us  St.  Francis  in 
his  hermitage,  kneeling  before  a  wooden  cross,  with  a 
death's  head  at  his  feet,  and  an  angel  advancing  with  a 
bottle  and  a  loaf,  and  offering  them  to  him.  At  the  foot  of 
this  engraving  we  are  told,  S.  Franciscus  rejicitur  ah  an- 
gelo  in  eremo ;  St.  Francis  refreshed  by  an  angel  in  a 
desert.  In  another  engraving  Christ  is  represented  armed 
with  thunderbolts,  about  to  destroy  the  world,  but  through 


676  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

the  prayers  of  the  Virgin,  St.  Francis,  and  St.  Dominick, 
his  anger  is  appeased.  The  foot  note  to  this  engraving, 
which  is  very  characteristic  of  the  whole  Romish  system,  is 
as  follows: — B.virgo  Christum  mundo  insensum -placat 'per 
S.  Franciscum  et  S.  Dominicum.  The  next  engraving  shows 
us  St.  Francis  lying  naked  in  the  snow,  with  some  roses  in 
his  hand,  which  he  is  offering  to  the  devil,  who  is  drawn  as 
a  lioness  on  its  hind  legs,  in  order  to  vex  him ;  the  foot  note 
being,  S.  Franciscus  insultat  dcemoni  proferens  in  hyeme 
rosas.  At  another  time,  according  to  this  book,  St.  Francis 
preached  so  eloquently  that  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  the  birds 
of  the  air,  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea  came  to  hear  him.  The 
foot  note  informs  us,  S.  Franciscus  invitat  aves,  bestias,  et 
creaturas  alias  ad  laudem  Creatoris ;  and  the  engraving 
represents  an  owl  —  the  bird  of  night  —  listening  most  at- 
tentively and  appropriately  to  a  preacher  of  the  night  like 
Francis.  Again,  there  is  an  elephant,  looking  most  saga- 
cious and  devout ;  and  also  a  little  lamb,  looking  up  most 
intellectually,  even  more  so  than  the  saint,  and  evidently 
smitten  with  admiration  at  his  eloquence ;  there  is  also  a 
bear  in  the  company,  also  a  camel,  a  stag,  and  a  rabbit ;  and 
out  of  some  water  at  the  saint's  feet  two  fishes  are  peering 
and  raising  their  heads,  and  apparently  swallowing  in  his 
words  with  great  avidity.  He  is  then  represented  being 
beaten  by  demons.  Next,  he  is  refreshed  in  his  cell  by  the 
melody  proceeding  from  an  angel's  harp.  Next,  we  are 
shown  his  central  seat  in  heaven.  In  another  engraving  we 
have  St.  Francis  and  St.  Clara,  represented  in  a  flame  of 
fire,  and  on  the  ground  there  appear  to  be  the  remnants  of 
a  repast.  By  the  foot  note  we  are  informed  that  St.  Fran- 
cis and  St.  Clara,  whilst  refreshing  themselves,  were  carried 
away  in  ecstasy,  and  the  convent  seemed  on  fire  (^S.  Fran- 
ciscus et  S.  Clara  se  reficientes  in  extasin  repiuntur^  et  con- 
ventus  ardere  visus).  Next,  he  is  represented  in  the  act  of 
restoring  a  dead  child  to  life,  and  casting  an  evil  spirit  out 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  0^ 

of  a  woman.  {Infantem  mortuum  ad  vitam  revocat.  Ener- 
gumenum  liberat.)  Another  engraving  represents  the  saint 
with  the  infant  Jesus  in  his  arms,  the  blessed  Virgin  having 
just  presented  him  to  him  —  the  foot  note  being,  Beata 
Virgo  puerum  Jesum  Francisco  offert.  Next,  he  is  repre- 
sented as  receiving  a  plenary  indulgence  from  Christ 
through  the  mediation  of  the  blessed  Virgin.  Another 
engraving  shows  us  the  saint  in  the  act  of  receiving  the 
stigmata,  or  the  five  wounds  of  Christ.  There  is  suspended 
in  the  air  a  crucifix,  and  from  the  wounds  of  the  image  are 
drawn  five  lines,  each  of  which  impresses  a  corresponding 
wound,  one  on  the  side,  and  the  other  four  on  the  hands  and 
feet  respectively  of  the  saint.  The  foot  note  is  as  follows : 
Biennio  ante  mortem  insignitur  a  Christo  stigmatihus  sacris. 
He  is  next  represented  in  the  act  of  dying,  his  soul  having 
been  raised  to  heaven  in  the  form  of  a  stai*.  His  dead  body 
is  next  represented  working  miraculous  cures,  and  the  foot 
note  informs  us,  Innumeris  uti  in  vita,  sic  post  obitum  mi' 
raculis  claret,  triginta  etiam  mortuis  resuscitatis.  In  the 
next  picture  St.  Francis  is  represented  pouring  blood  from 
his  side  into  a  cup,  to  satisfy  the  incredulity  of  Pope 
Gregory  IX.,  who  is  seen  lying  on  a  bed  at  the  side  of  the 
saint,  who  is  standing  before  a  table  filling  the  cup  from  his 
side,  from  which  the  blood  is  flowing  most  copiously.  The 
foot  note  tells  us,  Gregorio  Nbno  de  vulnere  lateris  duhitanti 
phiala  replere  visus  est  sanguine  de  latere  profluente.  From 
the  next  picture  it  would  appear  that  his  dead  body  stood 
miraculously  erect,  and  whilst  in  that  position  was  seen  and 
worshipped  by  Pope  Nicolaus  V.,  the  foot  note  being  to  the 
following  effect :  Corpus  ejus  mortuum  viventi  simile  per  tot 
ceva  starts  in  pedes  erectum  sola  divina  vi  sustentata  vidit  et 
veneratus  est  Nicolaus  V.  Pon.  Max.  In  another  picture 
we  see  St.  Francis  pulling  souls  out  of  purgatory  —  the 
foot  note  being,  Quotannis  in  purgatorium  desce?ide7is  suos 
ac  ordini  devotos  inde  liberat  privilegio  singulari.  This 
57* 


678  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

saint,  I  may  say,  seems  to  be  a  favorite  of  Dr.  Newman's, 
for  he  often  refers  to  him  in  his  book,  and  says  in  one  place, 
"  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  bareheaded  and  barefooted,  would 
be  hooted  "  by  Protestants.  I  do  not  know  that  we  should 
do  that ;  but,  since  Dr.  Newman  says  that  these  are  credi- 
ble miracles,  and  that  he  has  no  difficulty  in  receiving  them, 
I  appeal  to  the  intelligence  and  common  sense  of  mankind, — 
and  I  know  I  have  a  response  from  its  deepest  depth,  — 
whether  these  are  not  the  delusions  of  Satan,  the  deceptions 
of  fanatics,  and  not  the  miracles  of  the  Omnipotent  God. 

I  must  now  make  a  few  observations  upon  Dr.  Newman's 
statement  as  to  the  True  Cross.  He  says,  "  I  firmly  believe 
that  portions  of  the  True  Cross  are  at  Rome  and  elsewhere." 
The  "Tablet"  of  September  23,  1848,  contains  the  follow- 
ing paragraph :  — 

St.  George's  Church  —  Veneration  of  the  Holy  Gross.  — 
On  Thursday  last,  the  Feast  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  the  devout  worshippers  of  St.  George's  were  gratified, 
through  the  kindness  of  the  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  the  District, 
by  the  opportunity  of  paying  their  veneration  to  a  portion  of 
the  True  Cross  belonging  to  his  Lordship,  and  by  his  favor 
exposed  during  the  morning  in  front  of  the  screen.  A  tem- 
porary altar  was  erected  under  the  rood,  at  which  mass  was 
said  at  eleven.  In  front  of  it,  raised  on  a  beautiful  throne, 
and  surrounded  by  lights,  the  precious  relic  was  from  an 
early  hour  exposed  to  the  veneration  of  the  faithful,  and 
after  each  of  the  masses  it  was  given  by  the  several  priests 
to  the  people  to  kiss.  It  was  delightful  to  see  with  what 
joy  the  opportunity  was  embraced  by  a  crowd  of  worship- 
pers. After  the  eleven  o'clock  mass  the  relic  was  borne  in 
procession  under  a  canopy  round  the  church.  Many  hun- 
dred persons  assisted  at  the  solemn  mass  at  eleven,  and, 
after  the  procession,  kissed  the  relic  presented  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Doyle.  The  worshippers  were  chiefly  poor,  including 
the  children  of  the  schools.     To  see  Dr.  Doyle,  surrounded 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  679 

by  Ills  clergy,  in  that  beautiful  church,  which,  but  for  his 
persevering  zeal,  might  never  have  been  reared,  offering  the 
blessed  wood  of  redemption  to  the  homage  of  the  lame,  the 
blind,  the  ragged,  and  the  little  ones  of  the  Hock,  with  lights 
blazing  all  around,  and  the  glorious  sun  shining  through  the 
painted  windows,  was  a  sight,  the  like  to  which  has  not  been 
seen  in  London  for  many  a  long  day."  Upon  which  para- 
graph, the  Rev.  Mr.  Powell,  in  a  letter  to  his  Roman  Cath- 
olic parishioners,  dated  September  26,  1848,  and  first  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Coventry  Standard,"  makes  the  following 
useful  remarks  :  "  So  early  as  in  the  time  of  Paulinus,  in 
the  fifth  century,  portions  of  the  true  Cross  had  increased  to 
such  an  extent,  that  it  was  necessary  to  account  for  their 
increase  by  a  miracle.  *  Tlie  cross,'  says  he,  'possessing  a 
living  power  in  its  senseless  material  substance,  from  the  time 
of  its  discovery  has  continued  daily  to  afford  its  wood  to 
the  almost  innumerable  cravings  of  men  to  possess  some  por- 
tion of  it ;  and  that  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  seems  not  to 
have  sustained  any  loss  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  still  to  remain 
entire  ;  while  the  worshippers,  in  taking  to  themselves  a  part^ 
venerate  it  as  a  whole^  (Epist.  ii.  to  Severus.)  If  we 
believe  that  this  miracle  is  still  going  on,  then  there  is  no 
wonder  in  Dr.  Doyle's  possessing  a  bit  of  the  true  Cross. 
The  wonder  rather  is,  that  any  faithful  Roman  Catholic 
should  be  without  a  bit ;  for  we  are  expressly  told  in  the 
Paris  Breviary,  that  it  is  permitted  that  little  splinters  of  this 
sacred  wood  may  be  had,  to  confer  the  grace  of  faith  and  other 
blessings."  I  would  only  suggest  that  it  would  be  a  great 
confirmation  of  our  belief  in  the  above  miracle,  supposing 
we  were  to  put  it  to  the  test.  No  doubt  Dr.  Doyle's  portion 
of  the  true  Cross  possesses  the  same  multiplying  power  with 
every  other  portion.  It  would,  therefore,  be  no  great  favor 
to  ask  him  to  cut  off  a  little  bit  to  be  kept  at  the  Oratory  in 
Birmingham,  and  it  would  be  seen  that  the  remainder  would 
grow  one  day  as  big  as  it  was  before.     "  It  is  possible,"  and 


680  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

I  quote  from  Mr.  Powell's  excellent  letters,  "  however,  that 
you  may  be  rather  sceptical  respecting  this  miracle.  In 
that  case  you  will  be  the  more  anxious  to  ascertain  whether 
the  relic  exhibited  at  St.  George's  be  really  a  portion  of  the 
true  Cross  or  no.  If  you  turn  to  the  Romish  Prayerbook 
(or  Breviary)  and  look  to  the  service  for  the  3d  May,  you 
will  there  find  the  whole  story  about  the  first  discovery  of 
the  cross  on  which  Christ  sufi'ered.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
discovered  by  the  Empress  Helen,  in  the  year  326.  It  is 
there  recorded  that  three  crosses  were  found  buried  a  great 
depth  underground,  and,  apart  from  them  all,  was  also 
found  the  title  which  had  been  afiixed  to  the  cross  of  Christ. 
*  There  was  nothing  which  could  make  it  appear  to  which  of 
the  three  crosses  the  title  of  the  Lord's  cross  had  been  affixed  ; 
hut  a  miracle  removed  all  doubt.  Macarius,  the  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,  after  he  had  offered  up  prayers  to  God,  applied 
each  of  these  ci'osses  to  a  woman  who  was  afflicted  with  a 
severe  sickness.  The  two  first  had  no  effect  upon  her  ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  third  was  applied,  it  immediately  cured  her.'  The 
story  in  the  Paris  Breviary  is  hardly  to  be  reconciled  with 
this ;  but  still  it  asserts  that  there  were  three  crosses  found, 
and  that  the  cross  of  Christ  was  distinguished  from  the  other 
two  by  its  possessing  a  miraculous  power.  The  discovery 
was  made  in  the  following  manner  :  —  ^  A  dead  body  was 
brought  and  laid  on  the  spot.  First,  one  of  the  crosses  was 
applied  to  it,  then  another  ;  but  death  spumed  at  the  wood  on 
which  the  crimiyials  had  suffered.  Lastly,  a  resurrection 
evidenced  which  was  the  Lord's  cross,  for  no  sooner  did  the 
wood  of  salvation  touch  the  dead  body,  but  immediately  death 
took  its  flight,  —  the  work  of  death  disappeared,  —  the  body 
rvhich  had  been  dead  arose,  and  to  the  terror  of  those  who 
beheld  it,  the  dead  man  stood  upon  his  feet,  and  then,  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  spectators,  being  perfectly  restored  to  life, 
(like  Lazarus  of  old,  ivhen  liberated  from  his  grave-clothes,) 
he  walked  before  them  all.     Thus  was  the  cross  discovered,  and 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  681 

proved  to  he  the  very  cross  of  Christ  hy  such  an  evidence  as 
well  became  the  occasion,  hy  the  evidence  of  a  resurrection^ 
Now,  whicliever  of  these  two  stories  you  believe,  it  is  evi- 
dent that,  aecording  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Roman  Church,  a 
miraculous  power  is  inherent  in  the  genuine  wood  of  the 
true  Cross.  There  is  therefore,  no  difficulty  in  ascertaining 
whether  the  bit  of  wood  exposed  by  Dr.  Doyle  at  St. 
George's,  is  a  genuine  portion  of  the  true  Cross,  or  a  coun- 
terfeit. If  it  be  genuine,  it  possesses  the  power  of  working 
miracles ;  if  it  be  only  a  counterfeit,  of  course  it  has  no 
more  power  than  any  other  piece  of  wood.  Had  Dr. 
Doyle's  precious  relic,"  continues  Mr.  Powell,  "possessed 
the  healing  power  which  the  Roman  Church  asserts  to  be 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  genuine  wood  of  the 
true  Cross,  he  would  not  have  allowed  the  imposing  cere- 
mony of  Thursday  last  to  have  been  deficient  in  that  which 
would  have  been  its  most  prevailing  attraction.  The  blind 
and  the  lame,  who  so  devoutly  paid  their  homage  as  they 
supposed  to  the  blessed  wood  of  redemption,  would  not  have 
returned  from  their  devotions  as  blind  and  lame  as  when 
they  set  out.  Try  the  genuineness  of  Dr.  Doyle's  boasted 
relic  by  the  very  test  which  the  Church  of  Rome  proposes 
as  the  sure  proof  of  its  genuineness  ;  and  if  by  this  means 
you  are  convinced  that  it  is  all  a  cheat  and  an  imposture,  do 
be  prevailed  upon  to  seek  some  better  guide  in  the  way  of 
salvation.  That  which  has  been  described  is  not  merely  an 
attempt  to  play  upon  your  credulity,  in  a  matter  of  highest 
concernment ;  but  it  is  more  than  this,  —  it  is  a  device  for 
leading  you  into  the  grievous  sin  of  idolatry,  by  means  of  a 
very  gross  and  wicked  fraud."  I  saw  myself,  in  Belgium,  a 
portion  of  the  true  Cross.  And  a  Protestant  writer,  whc 
has  looked  fully  into  the  subject,  says  that  as  much  wood  of 
the  true  Cross  might  be  collected  throughout  Romish  Chris- 
tendom, as  would  build  a  ship  of  war.  But  this  would  only 
make  the  miracle  more  remarkable,  and  to  Dr.  Newman's 
prepared  appetite  the  more  credible. 


682  BOMISH    MIRACLES. 

The  next  miraculous  accounts  I  refer  to  are  those  re- 
specting a  medal,  the  origin  of  which  is  thus  told  in  a  book 
published  in  Paris  in  1842,  called,  "An  historical  Account 
of  the  Origin  and  Effects  of  the  new  Medal  struck  in  honor 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and 
generally  known  by  the  name  of  the  Miraculous  Medal,  by 
M  .  .  .,  Pretre  de  la  Congregation  D.  L.  M.  de  Saint- 
Lazare,"  approved  by  the  late  Archbishop  of  Paris,  and 
Gregory  XVI.;  at  p.  26:  "In  the  course  of  the  month  of 
September,  in  the  year  1830,  a  young  novice  of  the  Daugh- 
ters of  Charity  saw,  during  prayer,  a  tableau  representing 
the  holy  Virgin,  as  she  is  commonly  painted  under  the  title  of 
the  Immaculate,  standing,  clothed  in  a  white  robe  and  a  blue 
mantle,  with  her  arms  opened  and  stretched  towards  the 
earth.  Her  hands  w^ere  covered  with  diamonds,  from  w4iich 
proceeded  rays  of  resplendent  light  towards  the  globe,  and  in 
great  abundance  upon  a  certain  point.  She  heard  at  the 
same  time  a  voice  saying  to  her, '  These  rays  are  the  sym- 
bol of  the  graces  which  Mary  obtains  for  men ;  and  the 
point  of  the  globe  upon  which  she  sheds  them  most  abun- 
dantly is  France.'  Around  this  tableau  she  read  the  fol- 
lowing invocation  :  —  '0,  Mary  !  conceived  without  sin, 
pray  for  us,  who  have  recourse  to  you.'  In  a  few  moments 
the  tableau  turned  round ;  and  upon  the  reverse,  she  saw 
the  letter  M  surmounted  by  a  little  cross,  and  beneath,  the 
holy  hearts  of  Jesus  and  of  Mary.  After  considering  this 
attentively,  the  novice  heard  again  the  same  voice  say,  *A 
medal  must  be  struck  after  this  model,  and  they  w^ho  shall 
carry  it,  and  utter  with  piety  that  short  prayer,  shall  enjoy 
the  special  protection  of  the  mother  of  God.'"  Now,  I 
have  one  of  these  blessed  medals  in  my  pocket,  which  I 
now  show,  but,  except  that  it  has  worn  a  little  hole  in  the 
lining,  it  has  worked  no  miracle.  This  volume  contains  the 
account  of  about  three  hundred  miracles,  which  have  been 
worked  by  this  medal.    I  will  give  you  one  or  two  as  sped* 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  683 

mens.  At  p.  110,  we  are  told,  that  an  anchor  of  a  vessel 
once  became  so  fixe(f,  that  the  crew  could  not,  although  try- 
ing for  three  hours,  move  it.  Upon  this,  the  apostohcal 
missionary  of  the  congregation  of  Saint-Lazare,  "who  hap- 
pened to  be  on  board,  bethought  himself  of  a  miraculous 
medal  which  he  had  in  his  possession,  and  threw  it  into  the 
sea,  and  immediately  the  anchor  became  loose.  Another  I 
give  you  is  the  miraculous  conversion  of  a  Turk,  recorded 
at  p.  258.  "  One  day  when  M.  Calvi  was  taking  a  walk 
with  his  children,  they  met  a  Turk,  and  conversed  on  relig- 
ious matters  on  their  way.  Through  the  medium  of  one 
of  his  children,  who  understood  French  and  spoke  Arabic 
fluently,  M.  Calvi  asked  the  Turk  why  he  did  not  embrace 
Christianity.  He  answered,  that  his  parents  being  Turks, 
he  was  of  their  religion.  In  the  course  of  conversation  our 
brother  offered  him  a  medal,  which  he  willingly  accepted, 
and  left  them ;  but  two  days  after,  the  good  Turk  returned, 
saying,  that  he  wished  to  be  baptized,  and  that  from  the 
moment  he  received  the  medal  he  had  felt  that  he  could  not 
be  saved  in  his  religion,  and  that  the  Catholic  religion  was 
alone  true.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  spoke  of  the  medal,  but 
who  had  shown  herself  indifferent  to  it,  at  length  asked  for 
one,  which  she  carried,  and  she  too  came  and  wished  also  to 
be  baptized."  All  these  wonderful  conversions  and  results 
you  see,  proceeded  from  the  efficacy  of  this  miraculous 
medal.  In  a  paragraph  in  L!  Univers,  we  have  another 
miracle  ascribed  to  it.   It  is  headed,  "  Miraculous  escape.  — 

M.  de  B ,  who  was  in  the  second  train  at  the  time  the 

late  accident  on  the  Versailles  railway  occurred,  states  that 
he  cannot  account  for  his  wonderful  escape.  All  he  knows 
is,  that,  on  recovering  his  senses,  he  found  himself  in  a  vine- 
yard some  distance  from  the  road.  On  his  arrival  at  his 
own  house  he  immediately  prostrated  himself  before  a  cru- 
cifix. After  a  minute  or  two  his  mother,  overpowered  with 
joy  on  finding  him  safe  and  sound,  raised  him  up,  when  he 


684  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

exclaimed  with  fervor,  *  Oh,  mother,  it  is  only  through  a 
miracle  that  I  now  behold  you  agaiii ! '  Saying  this,  he 
raised  to  his  lips  the  miraculous  medal,  which  had  been 
placed  near  his  heart."  I  ask,  are  these  miracles  as  credi- 
ble as  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  ?  Are  they  not 
instinctively  felt  by  you  to  be  delusions  or  deceptions,  the 
offspring  of  fanaticism,  ignorance,  and  folly  ? 

After  this  narrative  of  authentic  miracles,  and  after  Dr. 
Newman's  implied  acceptance  of  them,  I  will  quote  Mr. 
Butler's  extraordinary  statement  as  to  the  obligation  of 
believing  them,  contained  in  his  "  Book  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  etc."  published  in  1825,  (p.  46).  "But  .  .  . 
while  the  Roman  Catholics  assert  that  it  has  pleased  Al- 
mighty God  to  work  in  every  age,  from  the  first  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  to  the  present  time,  many  and  incontestable 
miracles  in  favor  of  his  Church  and  her  doctrines,  [such,  I 
presume,  as  those  authentic  ones  I  have  narrated,]  they 
admit,  without  qualification,  that  no  miracles  except  those 
which  are  related  in  the  Old  or  in  the  New  Testament,  are 
articles  of  faith,  [i.  e.  of  vital  importance,]  that  a  person 
may  disbelieve  every  other  miracle,  [if  a  miracle,  it  is  a 
fact,  and  necessarily  believed,]  and  may  even  disbelieve 
the  existence  of  the  persons  through  whose  intercession  they 
are  related  to  have  been  wrought,  [whose  intercession  Dr. 
Newman  every  day  implores,]  without  ceasing  to  be  a 
Roman  Catholic.  This  is  equally  agreeable  to  religion  and 
common  sense,  [how  delightful  to  find  a  Romanist  recog- 
nizing common  sense !]  for  all  miracles  which  are  not  re- 
corded in  holy  writ,  depend  on  human  reasoning.  Now, 
human  reasoning  being  always  fallible,  all  miracles  depend- 
ing on  it  rest  on  fallible  proof,  and,  consequently,  may  be 
untrue.  [Why  then  does  Dr.  Newman  blame  our  disbelief?] 
Hence,  the  divines  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  never 
impose  the  belief  of  particular  miracles  either  upon  the 
body  of  the  faithful,  or  upon  individuals ;  they  only  recom.- 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  685 

mend  the  belief  of  them  [recommend  belief  of  frauds,  follies, 
lying  legends].  They  never  recommend  the  belief  of  any, 
the  credibility  of  which  does  not  appear  to  them  to  be  sup- 
ported by  evidence  of  the  highest  nature  ;  [if  true,  we  believe 
on  evidence,  not  recommendation ;]  and,  while  they  contend 
that  the  evidence  is  of  this  description,  and  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  rationally  disbelieved,  [see  the  specimens  I  have 
given,]  they  admit  that  it  is  still  no  more  than  human  [is  it 
not  ecclesiastical  and  papal?]  testimony,  and,  therefore, 
liable  to  error.  Dr.  Milner  [End  of  Controversy,  Letter 
xxiv.]  rejects,  in  the  wholesale,  the  miracles  related  in  *  the 
Golden  Legend '  of  Jacobus  de  Voragine,  those  related  in 
the  '  Speculum '  of  Vincentius  Belluacensis,  and  those  re- 
lated in  the  '  Saints'  Lives  *  of  the  patrician  Metapluas,  etc. 
No  Roman  Catholic  gives  credit  to  those  which  rest  on  Su- 
vius,  or  Moubritius.  Dr.  Lingard  calls  Osbert,  the  biog- 
rapher of  St.  Dunstan,  and  the  writer  of  his  life,  *  an  in- 
judicious biographer,  whose  dull  credulity  collected  and 
embellished  every  fable.'  Dr.  Lingard,  also,  while  he  asserts 
tliat  there  are  many  miracles  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  times, 
which  it  would  require  no  small  ingenuity  to  disprove,  and 
incredulity  to  discredit,  admits  that  there  are  also  many 
which  must  shrink  from  the  frown  of  criticism,  some  which 
may  have  been  the  effect  of  accident  or  imagination,  some 
that  are  more  calculated  to  excite  the  smile  than  the  wonder 
of  the  hearers,  and  some  which,  on  whatever  ground  they 
were  originally  admitted,  depend  at  present,  on  the  testimony 
of  writers  not  remarkable  for  sagacity  or  discrimination.  *  It 
was  their  misfortune/  says  the  same  excellent  writer,  '  that 
the  knowledge  of  these  writers  of  miracles  was  not  equal  to 
their  piety.  Of  their  censors  it  may  sometimes  be  said, 
that  their  piety  was  not  equal  to  their  knowledge/  This 
exposition  of  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  respecting  mira- 
cles has  been  often  given." 

These  extracts  are  worth  Dr.  Newman's  study.     They 
58 


686  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

justify  Protestant  caution,  and  show  how  much  beyond 
Butler  and  Milner  the  very  rev.  father  has  gone.  But  I 
must  draw  to  a  close.  Far  would  it  be  from  me  to  say  one 
word  disrespectful  of  Dr.  Newman,  or  even  to  seem  jocose 
on  such  a  matter  as  this ;  but  when  one  reads  these  miracles 
one  is  astonished  that  Dr.  Newman  should  seem  so  bereft  of 
his  wonted  perception,  and  heretofore  acute  powers  of  mind, 
as  to  accept  any  of  them  as  credible.  One  saint  seems  to 
have  been  an  ^tna,  a  Vesuvius,  or  a  burning  mountain. 
Such  saints  seem  to  be  those  who  required  to  have  water 
constantly  by  them,  in  order  to  cool  their  divine  love  by 
hydropathic  baths.  What  combustible  personages  they 
must  have  been  !  How  dangerous  must  the  Oratorians  be 
to  contiguous  houses  if  these  fathers  are  as  combustible  as 
their  predecessors !  Is  the  Oratory  in  Birmingham  insured  ? 
what  is  the  premium  ?  If  it  be  not,  it  may  one  day  ignite 
or  explode,  and  ruin  be  the  consequence  ;  and  if  it  be,  I  am 
sure  it  must  have  paid  a  very  high  premium.  I  hope  Dr. 
Newman  is  not  as  combustible  as  his  founder  was  before 
him.  If  we  only  had  a  column  of  such  saints,  coals  would 
not  be  required.  St.  Philip  Neri  alone  would  warm  all  the 
monks  of  all  the  Oratories  in  England.  I  do  not  wonder  at 
the  fervent  warmth  of  Dr.  Newman's  Lectures,  delivered 
to  the  brothers  of  the  Oratory  in  the  home  of  his  celebrated 
founder,  where  I  suppose  Fahrenheit  stands  all  the  winter 
at  212°.  And  as  to  perfume,  why,  some  of  the  saints  were 
perfect  Rowlands  and  Macassars.  One  saint  did  perfume 
all  Boulogne ;  half-a-dozen  would  perfume  London.  Then 
the  Commissioners  of  Sewers  would  be  superseded ;  then 
the  Board  of  Health  would  have  only  to  apply  to  Dr. 
Newman.  St.  Philip  Neri,  Dr.  Newman's  founder,  was  a 
wonderful  genius  besides.  He  could  smell  out  holiness  and 
sin.  Now  we  have  heard  that  the  camel  has  a  keen  scent 
of  water,  and  that  the  fox-hound  and  the  bloodhound  have 
an  acute  smell ;  but  the  nose  of  St.  Philip  Neri  was  vastly 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  687 

more  susceptible  than  the  snouts  of  these  :  he  could  discern 
moral  qualities  by  the  smell ;  the  pure  by  their  sweet  odor, 
and  the  impure  by  their  bad  odor.  All  this  is  stated  in  the 
Bull  of  Canonization,  and  also  in  Dr.  Newman's  Breviary ; 
and  I  shall  be  happy  to  show  Dr.  Newman  the  place,  in  the 
same  way  as  I  ascertained  for  Dr.  Wiseman,  in  his  own 
Pontifical,  what  he  thought  was  not  then  the  archieopiscopal 
oath.  The  apostles  discerned  spirits,  but  St.  Philip's  suc- 
cession is  far  superior  to  apostolical  succession ;  he  smelt 
virtues  and  vices,  right  and  wrong.  If  Dr.  Newman  has 
the  wonderful  gift,  as  well  as  the  mantle  of  his  founder,  I 
again  bid  the  people  of  Birmingham  beware.  Dr.  Newman 
will  smell  you  out  with  infallible  precision.  What  a  quick 
business  would  it  be,  were  we  to  let  loose  an  Oratorian 
father  among  our  parishes  and  fiocks  :  he  could  separate  the 
bad  fishes  from  the  good  at  a  whifi!  What  a  useful  thing 
would  an  Oratorian  be  at  a  parliamentary  election  !  Why, 
St.  Philip  Neri,  or  any  one  with  St.  Philip's  virtues,  could 
smell  out  a  Whig  or  a  Tory  ;  and  at  the  next  election,  if 
you  can  only  get  an  Oratorian,  he  will  be  able  to  smell  out  a 
pro-Maynoothian  and  an  anti-Maynoothian  candidate  at  once. 
What  a  capital  detective  police  oflicer  would  an  Oratorian 
make !  In  St.  Francis,  again,  we  have  a  preacher  who  pre- 
ferred beasts  and  birds  and  fishes  for  his  congregation.  He 
was  the  great  menagerie-preacher  of  Christendom.  What 
a  treat  would  he  be  in  the  Zoological  gardens !  On  a  late 
occasion  the  boa-constrictor  in  London  swallowed  his  blanket, 
and  the  keeper  had  terrible  work  to  get  him  to  disgorge  it ; 
but  if  he  had  applied  to  Dr.  Wiseman  for  one  of  his  best 
Franciscan  monks,  the  reptile  would  have  made  him  a 
cheerful  present  of  this  blanket  at  one  bidding.  How  com- 
posedly would  the  owl  listen  to  a  Franciscan  monk  —  the 
bird  of  night  feeling  perfectly  at  home  beside  a  missionary 
of  the  night !  Some  of  the  saints  were  small  volcanoes, 
whose  only  chance  of  existence  was  being  near  plenty  of 


688  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

cold  water.  Others  of  the  saints  were  positively  wags  and 
wits.  They  were  incessantly  playing  tricks  with  the  devil. 
One  pulls  his  nose,  another  spits  in  his  face,  another  whips 
a  lady,  and  all  of  tliena  do  the  most  unsaintly  and  the  most 
grotesque  exploits.  We  are  told  to  resist  the  devil ;  but 
then,  our  weapons  are  not  carnal :  but  these  Romish  saints 
resisted  him  by  striking  and  kicking  him,  and  spitting  in  his 
face,  and  exhibiting  regular  pugilistic  encounters.  Dr. 
Newman  is  busy  pouring  contempt  on  Protestantism  in  his 
lectures  to  the  Oratorians.  The  true,  faithful,  and  authentic 
facts,  every  atom  of  which  I  can  verify  by  reference  to  the 
page  of  the  documents  in  which  they  are  stated  —  these 
authentic  facts,  which  I  have  disclosed,  show  where  contempt 
is  deserved,  or  at  least  where  pity  becomes  us ;  and  that  Dr. 
Newman,  who  supposed,  as  appears  from  the  motto  on  his 
title-page,  that  it  was  the  tempus  loquendi,  would  have  done 
better  if  he  had  regarded  it  as  the  tempus  tacendi. 

But  there  is  one  miracle  which  Dr.  Newman  classifies 
with  Scripture  miracles,  which  he  receives  as  heartily  as  he 
receives  the  doctrine  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners, and  that  miracle  is  the  miracle  of  transubstantiation, 
the  great  standing  miracle  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Now,  I 
am  ready,  any  day  that  Dr.  Newman  will  meet  me  in  this 
Hall,  to  go  into  the  evidence  of  that  miracle.  He  complains 
that  we  Protestants  will  not  go  into  proof.  We  have  gone 
into  proof,  and  are  ready  to  go  into  proof  again :  we 
complain  that  he  will  not  meet  us  to  submit  the  proofs. 
The  moment  that  he  does  so,  we  are  prepared  to  meet  him, 
and  impartially,  honestly,  and  fairly  examine  them.  The 
miracle  of  transubstantiation,  for  instance,  he  alleges,  is  a 
miracle  and  article  of  faith  :  I  allege  it  is  a  delusion  ;  and 
if  he  can  accept  it,  as  he  does,  I  can  prove  to  him  that  he 
must  accept  a  thousand  very  grotesque  things.  I  met  once 
an  eloquent  and  acute  defender  of  Dr.  Newman's  church, 
who  discussed  that  topic  with  me  ;  and  when  I  had  shown 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  689 

yhat  eloquent  and  gifted  defender  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
that  the  Fathers  contradicted  each  other  in  the  dogmas  that 
they  believed,  I  wanted  him  to  leave  the  Fathers,  and  to 
come  with  me  to  the  grandfathers  —  the  Apostles  and  the 
Evangelists  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  Well,  my 
friend  said,  that  as  Dr.  Gumming  seemed  to  have  a  patro- 
phobia,  he  would  come  to  that  book  called  the  Bible,  and  he 
turned  to  me  and  said,  "Now," — as  he  read  these  words, 
"  This  is  my  body,"  —  "  Dr.  Gumming,  none  of  your  figures 
of  speech,  none  of  your  orientalisms,  none  of  your  explain- 
ing away.  I  have  gone  to  your  own  book ;  here  is  the  text 
that  proves  transubstantiation, '  This  is  my  body.' " 

I  turned  round  to  him,  and  said  in  reply,  "  I  also  go  to 
the  Bible  and  read,  *A11  flesh  is  grass.'  Mr.  French,  none 
of  your  figures  of  speech,  none  of  your  orientalisms,  none 
of  your  explaining  away :  you  have  brought  rae  to  the 
Scriptures  ;  I  follow  you  step  by  step ;  and  now,  sir,  I  assert 
that  you  are  not  the  distinguished  barrister  I  thought  you 
were,  but  that  if  I  were  to  tickle  you,  like  Shakspeare's 
Jew,  you  would  not  laugh  —  if  I  were  to  prick  you,  you 
would  not  wince,  —  you  are  a  bundle  of  grass,  and  I  assert 
that  you  are  so  by  the  very  interpretation  that  you  take  up 
to  support  transubstantiation,  for  *  All  flesh  is  grass.' "  I 
said  to  him,  in  the  next  place,  "  But  show  me  the  passage^ 
on  which  you  build  so  much  —  where  is  it?"  I  argued 
this  way :  "  It  cannot  be  a  miracle,  because  the  senses  do 
not  perceive  it.  If  I  take  the  wafer  after  the  priest  has 
consecrated  it,  it  tastes  like  a  wafer,  and  feels  like  a  wafer ; 
and  all  the  senses,  at  least  four  of  them,  testify  that  it  is  a 
wafer,  or  flour  and  water."  To  which  he  said,  "  Oh,  but 
the  senses  are  deceived."  To  which  I  answered,  "  In  that 
case,  it  may  be  something  else,  but  a  miracle  it  cannot  be  ; 
for  a  miracle  is  something  in  which  the  senses  are  not  de- 
ceived. In  the  mean  time,  will  you  point  out  to  me  the  text 
on  which  you  found  the  doctrine?"  He  turned  to  the  pas- 
58* 


690  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

sage,  and  said,  "  This  is  my  body."  I  took  the  book  from 
his  hand,  and  said,  "  I  read  it,  '  These  are  the  bricks  with 
which  Babylon  is  built.'  "  Pie  asked  what  I  meant.  I  re- 
plied, "  You  say,  every  Sunday  your  senses  are  deceived. 
Your  senses  may  be  deceived  while  you  read,  '  This  is  my 
body ; '  my  senses  may  inform  me  rightly  when  I  am  read- 
ing, '  These  are  the  bricks  with  which  Babylon  is  built.'  If 
the  senses  are  deceived,  one  man  may  see  what  another  man 
cannot ;  and  if  the  senses  be  deceived,  who  is  to  judge  w^hat 
are  the  words  before  us :  I  may  be  right,  and  you  may  be 
wrong ;  for  there  is  no  way  of  determining  which  is  right, 
except  by  a  criterion  which  you  say  may  be  deceived,  and 
that  upon  your  own  showing." 

Another  mode  by  which  I  endeavored  to  demonstrate  the 
difficulty  of  his  position,  was  by  showing  him  that,  on  his 
supposition,  we  must  believe  that  Jesus  held  his  own  body 
in  his  hand,  and  while  he  sat  visibly  before  the  twelve,  they 
held  each  his  whole  body  in  his  hand.  And  how  is  it  pos- 
sible, too,  I  would  ask,  if  our  blessed  Lord's  body  w^as  in  all 
respects  like  ours,  sin  excepted,  that  a  Roman  Catholic  can 
believe  that  on  each  of  a  hundred  thousand  altars,  if  there 
be  so  many,  at  one  moment,  there  is  the  whole  body  of 
Christ  present?  And  if  Dr.  Newman  believes  that  next 
Sunday,  should  he  break  the  consecrated  host  into  twenty 
pieces,  in  each  of  those  twenty  pieces  will  be  the  whole  body 
of  Christ,  I  ask  him,  how  can  this  be  ?  He  answers,  "  It  is 
a  miracle."  It  is,  I  reply,  wanting  in  the  very  essence  of  a 
miracle.  It  is  a  monstrosity,  not  a  miracle,  and  it  is  in  the 
face  of  Scripture,  which  says,  that  his  body,  sin  excepted, 
was  in  all  points  like  ours.  According  to  transubstantiation, 
a  body  may  be  in  several  places  at  one  and  the  same  mo- 
ment. Thus,  when  the  Resurrection  comes,  Henry,  Thomas, 
Peter,  or  William,  may  have  his  body  in  two  different 
places  whole  and  entire,  perfect  and  complete.  And  if  Wil- 
liam on  rising,  should  be  coming  from  one  place,  and  meet 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  691 

William  having  risen,  and  coming  from  another,  how  startled 
would  he  be ;  but  how  easily  could  he  plead  the  miracle  of 
transubstantiation,  to  show  that  a  body  could  be  in  two  or 
twenty  places  at  once.  If  I  were  to  assert  that  Pio  Nono 
was  seated  in  this  chair,  instead  of  the  nobleman  who  now 
occupies  it,  and  you  were  to  say,  No ;  that  miracle  would 
be  four  times  more  rational  than  transubstantiation,  because 
when  I  assert  that  Pio  Nono  is  in  that  chair,  your  eyes 
alone  will  tell  you  that  he  is  not  there  ;  but  the  miracle  of 
transubstantiation  contradicts  four  of  the  senses,  —  touch, 
taste,  sight,  and  smell,  —  and  is  therefore  four  times  more 
irrational  and  incredible  than  the  assertion  that  Pio  Nono 
occupies  the  chair  instead  of  Lord  Calthorpe  at  this  mo- 
ment. But  this  subject  is  long,  and  I  do  not  go  into  it,  but 
merely  state  that  it  is  one  of  the  miracles  which  Dr.  New- 
man does  accept. 

Dr.  Newman  talks  as  if  the  popular  belief  in  the  genuine- 
ness of  certain  relics  in  the  Tower,  of  narratives  about  our 
beloved  Queen,  of  legends  about  King  Alfred,  were  in  all 
respects  parallel  with  his  belief  in  Romish  miracles.  In 
answer  to  this  we  state,  that  we  sift  the  testimony  of  every 
historian ;  we  accept  facts,  while  we  repudiate  mere  tradi- 
tions and  legends.  But  I  ask,  dare  Dr.  Newman  dispute 
the  actual  occurrence  and  miraculous  nature  of  those  facts 
attested  in  the  processes  for  canonization,  and  accepted  by 
the  Pope  as  actual,  and  on  the  strength  of  the  occurrence  of 
which  canonization  followed?  Two  miracles  must  take 
place  before  beatification,  and  two  before  canonization, 
according  to  Di*.  Wiseman.  If  these  are  not  miracles, 
surely  all  is  vitiated,  —  a  sufferer  in  purgatory,  not  a  saint 
in  glory,  may  be  henceforth  invocated  by  the  faithful.  Dare 
Dr.  Newman  sift,  and  doubt,  and  reject  those  miracles,  on 
the  reality  and  alleged  historical  certainty  of  which  canoni- 
zation proceeded?  Dare  he  ascertain  which  are  equivocal  ? 
which  doubtful  ?  and  which  are  in  no  sense  to  be  accepted 


692  ROMISH    MIRACLES. 

as  miracles,  but  rejected  as  pretences  ?     If  so,  I  Avould  ask 
him,  which  are  settled,  which  are  not  ? 

Now,  both  Protestants  and  Romanists  agree  that  the 
miracles  wrought  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  abundantly 
prove  that  they  were  teachers  sent  from  God.  The  mission 
and  character  of  Christ  and  the  apostles  being  thus  irre- 
fragably  established,  and  historically  and  demonstrably  evi- 
denced to  us,  as  if  done  before  us,  by  testimony,  it  seems 
unnecessary  to  interpose  again  for  the  same  end,  and  for  the 
isame  object.  The  original  signature  is  not  effaced ;  the 
Divine  seal  is  not  destroyed.  The  less  the  necessity,  and 
the  greater  the  pretence  to  miraculous  powers,  the  more 
reason  we  have  for  suspicion ;  and  our  reasons  for  suspicion 
are  increased  by  the  fact,  that  some  of  the  miracle  workers 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  detected  impostors,  some  have 
been  proved  to  be  fanatics,  and  lastly,  most  learned  and 
respectable  authorities  and  divines  in  the  Romish  communion 
admit  that  many  of  the  miracles  accredited  by  the  Church 
of  Rome  were  simply  got  up  to  increase  the  piety  of  the 
faithful.  In  the  next  place,  those  miracles  which  we  have 
quoted,  alleged  to  have  been  done  by  saints  now  canonized, 
and  not  a  few  by  the  founder  of  Dr.  Newman's  order,  St. 
Philip  Neri,  under  whose  shadow  and  in  whose  home  he 
delivered  his  Lectures,  are,  some  so  ludicrously  grotesque, 
some  so  palpably  absurd,  others  so  meaningless,  pointless, 
and  objectless,  and  others  so  anile,  that  not  to  laugh  at,  or 
deplore,  and  certainly  scout  them  as  the  proofs  of  lunacy,  or 
fanaticism,  or  wild  delusion,  is  to  do  injustice  and  discredit 
to  the  sublime  and  solemn  miracles  of  Christianity.  There 
is  such  a  similarity,  almost  identity,  b&tween  heathen  and 
Romish  miracles,  —  both  about  equally  authenticated,  — 
that  one  cannot  help  thinking  that  Satan  is  doing  for  the 
Popedom  what  he  did  for  heathendom,  and  no  more. 
Pythagoras  tamed  the  Daunian  bear ;  St.  Francis,  a  wolf, 
Pythagoras  whispered  intelligibly  into  a  bull's  ear ;  and  St. 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  693 

Francis  preached  to  oxen.  Pythagoras's  golden  thigh  has 
its  match  at  Saragossa.  Do  images  wink,  speak,  perspire  ? 
So  the  image  of  Juno  Moneta  spoke  to  a  soldier  at  Veii. 
The  Roman  emperors,  according  to  Tacitus  and  Suetonius, 
did  miracles  as  good  as  those  recorded  of  the  saints  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Miracles  as  good,  and  scarcely  so  mon- 
strous, are  attributed  to  the  Arians  in  the  fourth  century, 
the  Novatians,  and  the  Eutychians.  Chrysostom,  in  one 
passage  at  least,  in  defending  the  true  Church,  says  that  she 
pretends  to  no  miracles,  and  asserts  that  miracles  had 
ceased ;  and,  taking  this  passage  as  a  fair  exponent  of  his 
views,  although  others  may  be  quoted  which  seem  to  show 
the  reverse,  Chrysostom  occupied  precisely  the  same  posi- 
tion against  the  Arians  and  the  Donatists  that  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  does  against  the  Romanists.  Dr. 
Newman  and  his  saints  in  this  matter  look  like  the  succes- 
sors of  such  heretics  as  the  Arians  and  the  Donatists,  whilst 
our  Protestant  ministers  look  like  the  successors  of  Chrys- 
ostom and  Augustine,  who  in  the  passages  I  refer  to  did  not 
pretend  that  the  Church  had  miraculous  powers. 

In  the  next  place,  tliose  are  not  miracles  proceeding  from 
God  that  authenticate  a  false  doctrine.  Jesus  has  authenti- 
cated the  Holy  Scriptures  as  God's  will  and  word.  What- 
ever contradicts  the  Bible  cannot  be  from  God,  or  come 
with  credentials  by  God.  "If  we,  or  an  angel  from 
heaven,"  which  assumes  a  miraculous  manifestion,  "were 
to  preach  to  you  any  other  doctrine,  let  him  be  anathema." 
Let  us  never  forget,  too,  that  we  are  warned  to  expect  men 
doing  wonders,  such  as  could  deceive,  if  possible,  the  very 
elect.  Let  us  remember,  too,  that  "  lying  signs  and  won- 
ders," not  so  much  false  ones  as  regaui  ipevdovg,  "  signs  or 
wonders  authenticating  a  lie,"  are  part  of  the  features  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  as  given  by  the  apostle  in  his  portrait  of 
the  "  man  of  sin."  In  the  next  place,  the  historians  of  the 
Scripture  miracles  are  infallible  —  confessedly,  admittedly 


694  KOMISH   MIRACLES. 

SO  —  and  Dr.  Newman  subscribes  to  this.  The  historians 
of  Romish  miracles  are  fallible.  This  Dr.  Newman  must 
admit;  and  the  statement  hj  Mr.  Butler,  a  very  distin- 
guished defender  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  I  have 
already  quoted,  and  which  I  hope  Dr.  Newman  will  study, 
shows  that  this  is  the  doctrine  of  that  Church.  We  do  well 
to  hesitate  to  accept  Romish  miracles. 

Before  I  conclude,  I  must  give  you  another  specimen  of 
the  miracles,  which  Dr.  Newman  and  Dr.  Wiseman  both 
expressly  believe  —  the  translation  of  the  holy  house  of 
Loretto ;  the  evidence  of  which  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
evidence  of  most.  I  have,  as  Dr.  Newman  desires,  gone 
into  the  evidence  of  it ;  and  the  evidence  is  most  triumph- 
antly against  its  being  any  thing  else  than  a  delusion  or  de- 
ception. I  will  give  you  the  account  which  is  stated  in  the 
tablet  on  the  Chapel  of  Loretto  itself,  as  translated  by  Stil- 
lingfleet,  which  is  as  follows :  "  The  Church  of  our  blessed 
Lady  of  Loretto  was  a  chamber  of  the  house  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  mother  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  house 
stood  in  the  country  of  Judea,  in  a  city  of  Galilee,  whose 
name  was  Nazareth ;  in  which  chamber  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary  was  born,  and  bred  up,  and  afterwards  there  received 
the  salutation  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  and  in  the  same  cham- 
ber she  educated  her  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  the  age  of  twelve 
years.  After  the  ascension  of  Christ  to  heaven,  the  Virgin 
Mary  remained  upon  earth  with  the  apostles  and  other  dis- 
ciples of  Christ,  who,  seeing  many  divine  mysteries  per- 
formed in  the  said  chamber,  did,  by  the  common  consent  of 
them  all,  decree  to  make  a  church  of  that  chamber,  to  the 
honor  and  memory  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  which  they 
did,  and  the  apostles  and  disciples  consecrated  that  chamber 
to  be  a  church,  and  there  celebrated  divine  offices,  and  St. 
Luke  the  Evangelist,  with  his  own  hands,  made  an  image  to 
the  likeness  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  is  there  to  this 
day.    Afterwards  that  church  was  inhabited  and  honored 


RO^nsn  MIRACLES.  695 

with  niucli  devotion  by  the  Christian  people  in  those  parts 
in  which  it  stood,  as  long  as  the  people  remained  Christian, 
But  after  they  renounced  the  Christian  faith  and  embraced 
Mahometanism,  the  angels  of  God  took  away  the  said  church, 
and  carried  it  into  the  parts  of  Sclavonia,  and  there  placed  it 
by  a  certain  castle  called  Fiume,  where  it  met  not  with  that 
honor  which  the  Blessed  Virgin  desired.  Therefore,  the 
angels  came  and  took  it  from  thence,  and  carried  it  clear 
over  the  sea  into  the  parts  of  the  territory  of  Recanati,  and 
there  placed  it  in  a  wood  which  belonged  to  a  noble  lady 
who  had  the  command  of  the  city  of  Recanati,  and  was 
owner  of  the  wood,  whose  name  was  Loreta,  and  from  her 
the  church  took  its  name  of  S.  Maria  de  Loreto.  In  that 
time,  by  reason  of  the  great  concourse  of  all  people  to  that 
wood  in  which  the  church  remained,  abundance  of  robberies 
and  mischiefs  were  committed  there ;  and,  therefore,  the 
angels  again  took  up  the  chapel  and  carried  it  to  a  hill 
belono-inn;  to  two  brothers,  where  the  angels  set  it  down. 
Those  brothers  getting  a  vast  revenue  by  the  resort  of  pil- 
grims thither,  and  the  oblations  by  them  made,  fell  to  a 
great  discord.  Upon  which,  the  angels  came  again  and 
took  away  the  chapel  from  that  place,  and  carried  it  into  the 
highway ;  and  there  placed  it  where  it  is  now,  with  many 
signs  and  innumerable  gifts  and  miracles.  Then  all  the 
people  of  Recanati  went  to  see  the  church  which  stood  upon 
the  earth  without  any  foundation :  and,  being  astonished  at 
such  a  miracle,  and  fearing  lest  it  should  come  to  ruin,  they 
compassed  it  about  with  a  good  thick  wall  and  a  strong  foun- 
dation, as  it  is  seen  at  this  day ;  and  yet  no  one  knew  from 
whence  that  church  came  into  those  parts,  until,  in  A.  d. 
1290,  the  Blessed  Virgin  appeared  in  a  dream  to  a  certain 
man  much  devoted  to  her,  to  whom  she  revealed  the  fore- 
going things,  and  he  presently  divulged  them  to  certain 
honest  men  of  that  country ;  who  immediately  resolved  to 
know  the  truth  of  these  matters,  and  therefore  determined 


696  EOMISH  MIRACLES. 

to  send  sixteen  notable  good  men  to  Nazareth  to  find  out  the 
truth  of  them.  These  carried  with  them  the  size  of  the 
said  church,  and  there  they  found  exactly  the  foundations  of 
it  and  the  just  measure ;  and,  to  make  all  sure,  they  found 
it  written  upon  a  wall  that  such  a  church  had  been  there 
and  was  gone  from  thence ;  and  those  persons  upon  their 
return  certified  the  truth  of  all  these  things ;  and  from  that 
time  it  was  known  that  that  chapel  was  the  chamber  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  the  Christian  people  showed  great 
devotion  towards  it :  for  the  Blessed  Virgin  there  every  day 
doth  infinite  miracles,  as  experience  shows.  There  was  a 
certain  eremite  that  was  called  Brother  Paul  of  the  Wood, 
who  dwelt  in  a  small  cottage  in  that  wood,  and  every  morn- 
ing went  to  divine  ofiaces  in  that  chapel,  and  was  a  man  of  a 
great  abstinence  and  a  holy  life,  who  said,  that  ten  years 
before,  or  thereabouts,  on  the  day  of  the  Nativity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  being  the  8th  of  September,  two  hours 
before  day,  in  a  clear  air  going  out  of  his  cottage  towards 
the  church,  he  saw  a  light  descend  from  heaven  upon  the 
church,  twelve  feet  long  and  si:^  broad,  and  when  it  was 
upon  the  church  it  vanished  ;  upon  which  he  said  it  was  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  which  there  appeared  on  the  day  of  her 
nativity,  and  came  to  see  her  feast  observed ;  but  no  man 
saw  her  besides  this  holy  man.  To  confirm  the  truth  and 
certainty  of  all  these  things,  two  honest  men  of  this  village 
reported  them  several  times  to  me,  Teremanus,  the  overseer 
and  governor  of  the  said  church :  one  of  them  was  called 
Paulus  Renaldatii,  the  other,  Francis  Prior.  The  said  Paul 
told  me  that  his  grandfather's  grandfather  saw  when  the 
angels  carried  the  said  chapel  over  the  sea  and  placed  it  in 
the  wood,  and  that  he  and  other  persons  ofttimes  went  to  the 
said  chapel.  And  the  said  Francis  ofttimes  said  to  me,  that 
his  grandfather  being  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old, 
said  that  he  went  often  to  the  said  church  in  the  wood. 
Moreover,  the  said  Francis  averred  that  his  grandfather's 


KOMISH   MIRACLES.  697 

grandfather  had  a  house  and  dwelt  there ;  and  that  in  his 
time  the  chapel  was  removed  by  angels  from  the  Hill  of  the 
Two  Brothers  to  the  highway."  Now,  Baronius  (Annal. 
torn.  i.  c.  9,  n.  1,)  accepts  this  miracle,  and  refers  to  Can- 
isius,  Hist.  DeiparcB,  lib.  v.  c.  25,  for  a  fuller  account  of  it, 
and  both  rest  it  on  the  omnipotence  of  God.  Our  faith, 
however,  is  not  what  God  can  do,  but  what  He  has  said  and 
done,  and  is  recorded  to  have  done.  E-aynaldus  (a.  d.  1291, 
n.  68,  69),  Bzovius  {Annal.  ad  a.t>.  1296,  n.  14),  Sponda- 
nus  (a. D.  1291,  n.  ^2),  and  Benedictus  Gononus  {Chrome. 
Deip,  A.I).  1298),  aJl  refer  to  Horatius  Tursellinus  {Hist. 
Lauret.  lib.  i.  c  6)  as  the  most  authentic  historian  of  the 
miracle.  His  story  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  tablet,  only 
that  he  states  some  additional  wonders,  as  that  the  trees 
bowed  to  it  as  it  passed,  and  that  the  image  of  the  Saviour, 
being  taken  out  to  be  placed  in  a  more  conspicuous  niche, 
returned  to  the  chapel  of  its  own  accord.  No  witnesses  are 
produced  to  attest  to  having  personally  seen  a  chapel  sailing 
through  the  air,  or  having  seen  it  pitched  upon  the  ground. 
Then  what  is  the  evidence  upon  which  Drs.  Newman  and 
Wiseman  rely  ?  Why  just  this  :  two  plain  countrymen  give 
testimony,  not  that  they  saw  it  moving  through  the  air,  but 
one  that  his  grandfather  saw  it,  and  the  other  that  his  great- 
great-grandfather  saw  it.  Tursellinus  says  that  they  swore 
to  it ;  but  still,  it  is  upon  the  strength  of  these  two  testimo- 
nies that  this  miracle  of  the  translation  of  the  ancient  habi- 
tation of  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  believed.  Now,  supposing 
that  we  take  it  that  the  great-great-grandfather,  not  upon 
his  own  testimony,  but  upon  that  of  his  great-great-grandson, 
did  see  something  in  the  air  while  he  was  cutting  wood,  let 
us  ask.  Was  this  great-great-grandfather  sure  that  this  some- 
thing was  the  chapel  of  Loretto  ?  Did  he  see  angels  carry- 
ing it  ?  or  are  angels  visible  ?  How  did  he  know  they  were 
angels,  not  having  seen  such  before  ?  Was  he  quite  sure 
that  what  he  saw  was  not  a  ship  with  all  its  sails  set,  on  the 
59 


698  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

Adriatic  ?  Did  such  a  phenomenon  excite  so  little  attention, 
that  only  two  men  are  found,  who  testify,  not  that  they  saw 
it,  but  the  one  that  his  grandfather,  and  the  other  that  his 
great-great-grandfather  saw  it  a  hundred  years  ago  ?  And 
besides  this,  St.  Vincentius  Ferrerius,  who  lived  after  a.  d. 
1440,  says  (Serm.  de  Assump.  B.  F!),  that  the  chamber  of 
our  Lady  was  still  in  Nazareth.  St.  Antonin  of  Florence, 
who  lived  some  time  after  this  alleged  miraculous  translation, 
writing  on  miracles,  is  silent  about  it.  Blondus,  in  1450, 
says  {Italia  illustr.  in  Piceno,  p.  339)  there  was  a  chapel 
of  our  Lady  at  Loretto,  but  nothing  of  the  miraculous 
translation.  And  how  remarkable,  too,  that  this  house 
should  have  escaped  being  destroyed,  when  the  plough- 
shares of  Titus  and  Vespasian  tore  up  all  the  foundations  of 
ancient  Jerusalem.  It  may  be  asked  also.  How  was  it  that 
this  house  did  not  suffer  decay  during  thirteen  hundred 
years  ?  And  how  could  it  be  removed  to  Italy,  and  yet,  as 
the  Greeks  testify,  be  still  at  Nazareth  ?  Tursellinus  (Hist, 
Lauret.  lib.  ii.  c.  18)  gives  a  miracle  in  proof  of  this  prior 
miracle,  which  would  certainly  be,  in  Dr.  Newman's  mind, 
a  very  conclusive  evidence :  "A  priest  of  Dalmatia,  being 
devoted  to  the  blessed  Virgin  of  Loretto,  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Turks,  who  would  have  forced  him  to  renounce  his 
religion,  which  he  would  not  do,  but  still  called  upon  Christ 
and  Mary ;  they  being  enraged,  asked  what  he  meant  by 
using  those  names  so  often ;  he  told  them  that  these  clave  to 
his  very  heart ;  on  which  they  threatened  they  would  pull 
out  his  heart  and  lungs  if  he  did  not  curse  Jesus  and  Mary. 
On  their  resolving  to  do  so,  the  poor  priest  made  a  vow  to 
the  blessed  Virgin  of  Loretto,  that  if  he  lived,  he  would  go 
there  on  a  pilgrimage.  They  then  cut  open  his  breast,  and 
pulled  out  his  heart  and  lungs,  and  gave  them  into  his  hand, 
and  bade  him  go  to  the  Lady  of  Loretto.  The  priest  set  out, 
carrying  his  heart  and  lungs  in  his  hand,  and  arrived  safe  at 
Loretto,  and  to  our  Lady's  servants  there  he  showed  his 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  699 

breast,  and  his  entrails  taken  out."  Now,  if  one  asks,  How 
can  one  breathe  without  lungs  ?  the  answer  is.  It  is  a  mira- 
cle. If  you  ask,  How  can  the  blood  circulate  without  the 
heart  ?  the  answer  again  is.  It  is  a  miracle.  If  you  ask 
questions  about  the  miraculous  translation  of  the  house  of 
Loretto,  the  answer  still  is,  A  miracle !  a  miracle !  In  short, 
the  Church  of  Rome  draws  on  the  omnipotence  of  God  for 
sanctions  to  the  impostures  of  her  priesthood.  There  is  no 
evidence  of  any  of  these  miracles  that  it  is  worthy  of  sanity 
to  receive.  We  go  into  proof  of  Dr.  Newman's  miracles, 
and  we  find  his  proofs  are  no  proofs,  his  witnesses  mere  tra- 
ditionists,  and  the  facts  attested  the  fantastic  tricks  of  jug- 
glers. The  result  of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  they  are  not 
miracles,  but  the  tricks  of  impostors,  or  the  delusions  of 
fanatics.     I  leave  you  to  decide  between  the  two. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say,  the  Scripture  miracles  must 
be  true.  They  are  beyond  doubt  or  dispute  among  Protes- 
tants or  Romanists.  These  legendary  miracles  may  be 
false  —  some  have  been  proved  to  be  so,  and  all  are  per- 
formed in  favor  of  false  doctrines,  in  reference  to  which,  I 
repeat,  that  if  the  greatest  miracle  were  actually  done  in 
favor  of  such  doctrine,  I  would  not  accept  the  miracle  or 
the  doctrine.  The  Bible  is  closed  ;  its  testimony  is  clear  ;  I 
am  sure  that  if  God  has  wrought  a  miracle  to  authenticate 
a  truth  there,  he  never  will  work  a  miracle  to  authenticate  a 
lie  that  directly  contradicts  it.  Therefore,  miracles  worked 
in  defence  of  Romanism,  if  wrought  by  God,  would  be 
Omnipotence  attesting  that  which  would  be  opposite  to  what 
Omnipotence  attested  before  —  it  would  be  literally  God 
contradicting  himself — it  would  be,  in  short,  the  reversal  of 
that  beautiful  and  precious  announcement,  "  God  cannot 
lie."  I  am  satisfied,  therefore,  not  only  on  this  ground,  but 
from  the  evidence,  —  satisfied  from  the  very  perusal  of  the 
miracles  ascribed  to  the  saints  of  Rome,  that  they  are  delu- 
sions ;  and  therefore,  I  repudiate  them  all.     We  honor  the 


700  ROMISH   MIRACLES. 

Scriptures,  we  honor  God,  we  vindicate  Christianity  from 
the  assaults  of  infidels,  when  we  deplore  some  of  these  pre- 
tended miracles  as  the  offspring  of  ignorance  and  delusion, 
and  denounce  others  as  frauds  and  wicked  impostures. 

I  feel  deeply  for  Dr.  Newman.  I  cannot  doubt  his  sin- 
cerity ;  it  would  be  folly  to  dispute  his  keen  and  his  splendid 
talent.  But  I  would  beseech  him,  if  my  poor  voice  could 
reach  him,  to  weigh  well  his  position,  and  to  think  solemnly 
of  that  day  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  opened, 
and  when  these  desperate  efforts  of  his  to  sap  the  founda- 
tions of  Christianity  by  plunging  into  scepticism  those  who 
will  not  be  precipitated  into  superstition,  shall  be  laid  bare 
in  the  searching  light  of  the  countenance  of  God.  Dr. 
Newman's  once  brilliant  mind  has  led  him  astray  from  truth 
to  error,  and  from  error  to  error,  till  now  he  walks  wildly 
amid  the  sparks  of  his  own  kindling.  He  has  lost  sight  —  I 
pity  him,  I  pray  for  him  —  of  the  lode-stars  in  the  sky,  and 
he  now  gropes  by  the  frail  and  fallible  guideposts  of  earth. 
Shorn  of  his  ancient  strength,  and  having  parted  with  much 
of  his  former  genius,  he  is  now  —  unhappy  man  —  a  blind 
captive  grinding  at  the  mill  of  the  papacy,  and  doing  its 
worst  and  most  degrading  drudgery.  But  let  the  papacy 
beware.  He  is  a  dangerous  victim.  He  may  regain  his 
lost  powers.  His  hair,  like  that  of  the  strong  man  of  an- 
cient days,  may  grow  again ;  he  may  yet  awake  from  his 
torpor,  and  shake  himself  as  before,  and  lay  hold  of  the 
pillars  and  the  props  on  Avhich  that  gigantic  imposture  rests, 
and  bring  down  the  Avhole  in  one  crashing  and  irretrievable 
ruin.  If  my  voice  could  reach  that  gifled,  but  misguided 
man,  —  and  I  hope  our  prayers  will  be  fervently  offered  up 
for  him, —  Father  Ignatius  is  praying  for  our  perversion, 
let  us  pray  for  theirs ;  and  let  us  look  upon  Romanism  less 
as  a  political  system,  less  as  one  of  the  tricks  of  politicians, 
and  more  as  a  deep  and  awful  delusion  ruining  souls ;  and 
so  pray  for  their  deliverance  and  escape  —  if  my  voice 


ROMISH   MIRACLES.  701 

could  reach  Dr.  Newman,  I  would  implore  him  to  cease 
from  mocking,  as  he  does  most  wickedly,  most  unjustifiably, 
without  any  right,  reason,  or  real  necessity,  at  living  and 
evangelical  religion;  and  to  lay  aside  that  self-confidence 
which  he  displays,  and  humble  his  soul  as  a  little  child ;  and 
turn  from  fables  and  polluted  cisterns  to  the  Fountain  of 
living  waters.  And  if  I  have  said  any  thing  that  can  hurt 
his  feelings  personally,  I  desire  to  retract  it ;  if  I  have  said 
any  thing  that  may  convey  conviction  to  his  soul,  may  God 
rivet  it.  And  when  the  last  day  comes,  may  Dr.  Newman 
and  I  find  ourselves  among  the  saved,  having  washed  our 
robes  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  only,  justified  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  Jesus  only,  and  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  Jesua 
only. 

59* 


KOMANISM   NOT    THE    PATRON 


PERSECUTOR  OF  SCIENCE 


I  AM  not  about  to  discuss,  in  this  reply,  the  patronage 
extended  to  the  Bible  or  to  civil  freedom  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church, —  topics  on  which  I  have  elsewhere 
spoken  at  length,  —  but  to  meet  an  assertion  made  by  Dr. 
"Wiseman  on  this  very  platform,  and  within  these  walls,  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  has  been  the  great  patroness 
of  learning  and  science.  There  are  no  doubt  some  things 
which  she  does  patronize,  and  it  is  but  fair  and  candid  to 
admit  it.  She  has  been  a  great  patroness  of  painting, 
music,  and  splendid  architecture  during  a  long  period  of  her 
history ;  but  mark  the  reason  of  it.  Painting,  and  archi- 
tecture, and  music  have  nothing  in  them  essentially  and 
inevitably  either  Protestant  or  Popish.  They  may  decorate 
the  one  or  other  with  equal  facility  of  application.  The 
Church  of  Rome  is  an  institution  adorned  to  the  very 
utmost,  and  for  a  very  natural  and  obvious  reason,  inas- 
much as  ornament  is  necessary  in  order  to  conceal  from 
ordinary  eyes  the  radical  and  abhorrent  defects  of  a  corrupt 

*  Delivered  in  the  Music  Hall  in  Leeds,  in  June,  1853,  in  reply  to  a  lec- 
ture delivered  a  short  time  before  in  the  same  place  by  Cardinal  Wiseman. 


704  ROMANISM    NOT    THE    PATRON 

and  anti-Christian  system.  But  all  the  painting  that  can  be 
applied  will  never  conceal  from  the  Christian  mind  the 
dense  darkness  and  errors  of  her  creed,  though  it  may  con- 
ceal it  from  those  who  do  not  value  or  estimate  religion  by 
its  inherent  and  real  elements.  To  paint  the  rose,  or  to 
adorn  the  lily,  or  to  gild  refined  gold,  or  to  add  fresh  per- 
fume to  the  violet,  seem  an  excess  of  works  of  supereroga- 
tion. Pure  religion  needs  no  ornaments  or  art  to  adorn  it 
—  the  least  adorned,  it  is  adorned  the  most.  It  is  always  a 
suspicious  sign  when  we  see  a  church,  whether  Protestant 
or  Romish,  beginning  to  add  to  the  splendor  of  her  com- 
munion table  or  to  the  gorgeous  colors  of  her  windows ;  for, 
although  it  may  seem  uncharitable,  it  is  natural  to  suspect 
that  the  minister  is  conscious  of  the  inner  glory  making  its 
exodus,  and  is  now  trying  to  lay  on  the  outer  glory  in  order 
to  fill  up  the  wide  chasm  it  has  left  behind. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  Church  of  Rome  has  been 
a  great  patroness  of  music  in  every  age,  and  in  her  churches 
upon  the  continent  I  have  been  almost  electrified  by  hearing 
the  performance  of  some  of  the  most  magnificent  composi- 
tions, though  my  conviction  still  remains,  that  the  Psalmist's 
strain  upon  a  people's  lips  has  something  in  its  mighty 
mass  more  thrilling  and  significant,  nobler,  and  richer,  than 
organs,  and  flutes,  and  sackbuts,  and  psalteries. 

The  Church  of  Rome  has  been  a  great  patroness  of 
architecture,  but  it  has  been  at  the  expense  of  many  another 
more  precious  acquisition.  From  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  the  noblest  cathedrals  in 
Europe  were  raised,  while  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
were  sunk  into  the  deepest  degradation,  and  when  Hilde- 
brand  was  putting  his  foot  upon  the  necks  of  kings,  and 
kindling  a  war  of  devastation  and  rapine  throughout  Europe. 
After  all,  it  does  not  require  a  man  to  be  a  very  great 
Christian  in  order  to  build  a  cathedral.  It  is  possible  to  be 
a  very  magnificent  architect,  and  yet  a  very  indifierent 


BUT   THE   PERSECUTOR   OF   SCIENCE.  705 

Christian.  It  is  possible  to  build  a  gorgeous  temple  as 
Herod  did,  and  yet  to  live  and  die  as  Herod  also  did.  The 
whole  earth  is  one  vast  Cathedral ;  ruined  cities  are  its 
broken  tablets,  and  the  histories  of  ancient  nations,  the  in- 
scriptions still  legible,  and  grass,  and  sand,  and  rock  are  its 
tessellated  pavements,  wind  and  wave,  and  thunder  its  ever- 
lasting anthem,  and  its  high  altar  is  the  Son  of  God  ;  every 
stone  in  it  is  eloquent  with  praise,  and  every  thing  contained 
in  it  preaches  a  sermon  to  the  listening  and  consecrated  ear. 
But  whatever  the  Church  of  Rome  has  done  for  archi- 
tecture, painting,  and  music,  I  am  prepared  to  show  from 
facts  which  I  have  collected  together  at  considerable 
trouble,  that  the  church  of  Cardinal  Wiseman  has  never 
been  a  patroness  of  science  at  any  era  of  her  history,  or  in 
any  part  of  the  world  under  her  dominion.  But  before  I 
introduce  this  subject,  I  would  warn  the  public  that  Cardi- 
nal Wiseman  is  not  so  accurate  in  his  facts  as  to  entitle  him 
to  implicit  confidence,  or  to  spare  us  the  trouble  of  exami- 
nation. I  must  prove  this.  On  the  28th  of  April,  Cardinal 
Wiseman,  at  Manchester,  delivered  a  lecture  "  On  the  Rela- 
tion of  the  Arts  of  Design  to  the  Arts  of  Production,"  and 
among  other  things  he  said  that  Bernard  Palissy,  "  after 
sixteen  years'  perseverance,  produced  the  first  specimens  of 
colored  and  beautiful  pottery,  such  as  are  to  this  day  sought 
after  by  the  curious,  and  he  received  a  situation  in  the 
King's  household,  and  ended  his  days  in  comfort  and 
respectabihty."  But  what  were  the  actual  facts  of  the  case. 
In  "  Morley's  Life  of  Palissy,  the  Potter,"  it  is  stated  thai 
"  Palissy,  the  great  potter,  died  in  1589  in  the  Bastile,  where 
he  had  been  confined  for  four  years  as  a  Huguenot  (that 
is,  because  he  was  a  Protestant)  ;  the  King  and  his  other 
friends  could  defer  his  trial,  but  dared  not  grant  him  lib- 
erty." The  assertion  of  Dr.  Wiseman  is  rather  suspicious, 
when  we  recollect  that  Feller  and  Ilenrion,  both  Jesuit 
Priests,  assert  in  the  Dictionnaire  Historique :   "  Palissy 


706  ROMANISM  NOT  THE  PATRON 

(Bernard  de),  n^  dans  le  diocese  d'Agen,  potier  de  terre, 
^tait  au-dessus  de  son  ctat  par  son  esprit  et  ses  eonnais- 
sances.  II  naquit  au  commencement  du  16me  siecle,  et 
mourut,  vers  1589,  en  prison,  pour  avoir  embrassc  et 
repandu  le  calvinisme.  Ayant  appris  de  lui-meme  I'ar- 
pentage,  qui  fut  sa  premiere  profession,  il  s'appliqua  ensuite 
au  dessin,  voyagea  pour  etudier  I'histoire  naturelle  et  sur- 
tout  la  chimie,  fort  peu  connue  de  son  temps.  II  fit  plu- 
sieurs  experiences,  dont  quelques-unes  reussirent.  En  1543, 
11  fut  charge  de  lever  la  carte  des  marais  salants  de  la 
Saintonge.  Apres  16  ans  de  peines  et  d'experiences,  il 
parvint  a  decouvrir  la  composition  d'email,  ce  qui  lui  merita 
d'etre  appeie  h  Paris  et  d'avoir  un  logement  au  Louvre,  ou 
il  fit  ouvrir,  en  1575,  un  cours  d'histoire  naturelle.  II 
echappa  h  la  Saint-Barthelemy ;  mais,  quelque  temps  apres, 
les  ligneurs  le  firent  mettre  en  prison  comme  calviniste." 
Trusting  to  his  own  arts  and  designs  the  cardinal  has 
selected  this  accomplished  author  of  beautiful  designs,  and 
told  the  Manchester  people  that  he  lived  a  life  of  compe- 
tency and  ease,  and  died  under  the  patronage  of  that  church 
which  always  had  fostered  science  and  art ;  but  on  this  state- 
ment being  sifted  and  investigated  it  turned  out  that  about 
99  1-2  per  cent,  of  what  a  cardinal's  infallibility  had  enabled 
him  to  say  was  perfectly  untrue,  and  that  Palissy  died  a 
prisoner  in  the  Bastile,  where  he  had  been  confined  for  his 
Protestant  opinions,  and  his  love  of  his  Bible. 

I  must  give  another  memorable  specimen  of  the  arts  and 
designs  of  the  cardinal,  which  came  out  in  carrying  on  a 
controversy  with  Dr.  Turton,  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  which  is 
not  very  much  to  his  credit.  Dr.  Wiseman  in  his  lecture 
on  the  Eucharist  said,  "I  have  adduced  the  authority  of 
the  learned  Tittman,  that  our  Saviour  if  not  speaking  of 
the  real  presence  spoke  not  according  to  the  received  usages 
and  language  among  his  hearers."  Now,  Dr.  Turton,  the 
accomplished  Bishop   of  Ely,  in  his   reply   said  — "  The 


BUT   THE   PERSECUTOR   OF   SCIENCE.  707 

learned  Tittman  thus  in  his  commentary  on  St.  John  is  cited 
by  Dr.  Wiseman  to  prove  that  which  he  does  not  prove." 
To  this  reply  Dr.  Wiseman  issued  a  rejoinder,  in  which  he 
said  in  triumph,  "  I  quoted  '  Tittman's  3Ieletemata  Sacra^ 
but  I  suppose  the  learned  Professor  Turton  was  unac- 
quainted with  this  work,  so  like  a  good  controversialist  — 
certainly  not  like  a  good  soldier  —  he  goes  to  consider 
another  work  of  Tittman's,  and  from  that  attempts  to  refute 
me.  This  is  his  commentary  on  St.  John.  The  words 
from  the  MeUtemata  are  as  clear  as  those  from  the  commen- 
tary, nor  will  any  quotation  from  the  latter  obscure  or  in- 
validate the  former."  To  this  Dr.  Turton  replied,  "  There 
are  readers,  who,  without  any  intimation  from  me,  will  be 
aware  of  my  astonishment  at  the  sight  of  this  passage  from 
Dr.  Wiseman's  reply ;  and  every  reader  will  be  enabled  to 
form  such  judgment  on  the  subject,  when  I  state  that  the 
MeletemcLta  Sacra  and  '  Commentary  on  St.  John '  are  one 
and  the  same  work.  The  title  of  Dr.  Tittman's  work  was 
MeUtemata  Sacra;  sive  Commentarim  in  Evangelium  Jo- 
annis — a  title  which  declared  as  distinctly  as  words  can 
declare,  that  the  work  is  a  commentary  on  the  gospel  of 
St.  John.  I  quoted  a  passage  in  the  MeUtemata  Sacra; 
but  having  a  dislike  to  hard  words,  and  not  imagining  that 
any  one  who  had  even  heard  of  the  name  of  Tittman  —  to 
say  nothing  of  the  person  who  wrote  as  if  he  were  quite  at 
home  with  '  the  learned  Tittman '  —  could  be  at  a  loss  in  the 
case,  I  employed  the  following  terms  —  'I  have  carefully 
examined  Tittman's  commentary  on  St.  John,'  the  volume 
denominated  MeUtemata  Sacra  being  declared  on  the  very 
title-page  to  be  '  a  Commentary  on  St.  John.'  No  other 
commentary  by  Tittman  I  ever  heard  of,  I  will  venture 
to  say,  except  in  Dr.  Wiseman's  reply,  and  therefore  he 
(Dr.  Wiseman)  never  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life  had 
read  or  even  once  consulted  the  volume  called  MeUtemata 
Sacra !  "     I  do  not  quote  this  piece  of  tergiversation  in 


708  ROMANISM   NOT    THE    PATRON 

order  to  cast  reproach  on  Dr.  Wiseman,  but  to  justify  a 
careful  canvass  of  all  he  says. 

Dr.  Wiseman  is  in  the  habit  of  asserting  in  his  controver- 
sial works  precisely  the  opposite  of  what  most  people  think 
ascertained  facts.  The  contradictory  spirit  is  so  intense 
within  him  that  he  cannot  help  it.  He  smites  and  contra- 
dicts everybody  and  every  thing  that  either  keeps  aloof 
from  or  finds  fault  with  the  Eomish  religion.  He  is  essen- 
tially, and,  as  a  Romish  priest,  consistently  intolerant.  He 
treats  facts  as  the  Inquisitors,  his  friends,  treat  heretics.  He 
dresses  them  up  in  his  own  colors,  and  sends  them  to  the 
press  in  this  country  as  he  would  send  their  author  to  the 
auto-da-fe  in  Spain,  excommunicated,  cursed,  and  cari- 
catured. 

But  the  great  boast  of  Dr.  Wiseman  is  in  the  following 
sentence:  "That  science  has  nowhere  flourished  more,  or 
originated  more  sublime  and  useful  discoveries,  than  where 
it  has  been  pursued  under  the  influence  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic religion."  After  this,  one  has  a  right  to  expect  great 
scientific  productiveness  in  Spain,  in  Italy,  in  Austria,  in 
Ireland,  and  among  the  Romish  population  of  England. 
One  would  expect  to  find  that  the  two  Sicilies  had  exceeded 
the  two  Saxonies,  that  Spain  had  eclipsed  Holland,  and 
that  Italy  outshines  England.  Are  these  Roman  Catholic 
countries  very  productive  of  Newtons,  of  Keplers,  and  of 
Davys,  or  are  they  so  modest  as  to  "blush  unseen,  and 
waste  their  sweetness  on  the  desert  air ; "  so  that  even  an 
inquisitive  cardinal  could  not  find  them,  notwithstanding  the 
facility  with  which,  on  a  late  occasion,  he  had  ransacked  the 
world  for  witnesses  on  a  very  memorable  trial,  and  brought 
them  out  for  the  glory  of  mother  church  by  mere  word  of 
mouth.  What  a  pity  that  he  could  summon  so  few  scientific 
prodigies  from  the  same  quarter !  He  might  have  named  a 
few,  or  devoutly  invented  another  Palissy,  the  potter.  The 
fact  is  the  cardinal  must  have  built  his  conclusion  on  the 


BUT    THE    PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  709 

instances  given  in  his  breviary.  There,  I  adrait,  we  are 
beaten.  Such  were  the  scientific  attainments  of  Roman 
Catholic  saints,  that  one  genius,  some  hundred  years  ago, 
crossed  the  Mediterranean  on  his  cloak.  Where  has  Prot- 
estantism such  acquaintance  with  hydraulics  and  hydrostat- 
ics as  this  ?  Hide  your  heads,  ye  Wattses  and  Ericcsons, 
and  ye  Atlantic  steamers,  in  the  presence  of  the  talented, 
the  economical,  and  the  scientific  geniuses  of  the  Romish 
Church.  Another  Roman  Catholic  savant,  recorded  in  Dr. 
Wiseman's  breviary,  had  his  head  cut  off  in  battle.  He  did 
not  stick  it  on  again,  that  would  have  been  an  ordinary  ex- 
ploit, but  he  took  his  head  under  his  arm,  and  marched 
home  with  a  countenance  as  composed  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  The  Church  of  Rome  has  two  heads  of  John  the 
Baptist,  one  in  Rome  and  the  other  at  Amiens,  but  this  is 
scientifically  explained,  —  one  was  the  head  of  John  the 
Baptist  when  he  was  a  boy,  and  the  other  when  he  was  of 
middle  age!  Such  are  the  scientific  attainments  of  that 
church  that  she  possesses  as  many  fragments  of  the  true 
cross  as,  if  collected  together,  would  build  one  of  Her 
Majesty's  120  gun  ships.  I  need  not  say  that  the  eyes  of 
Madonnas  are  constantly  winking  and  shedding  tears,  and 
that  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius  liquefies  on  the  day  dedicated 
to  his  service.  In  such  scientific  accomplishments  as  these 
Protestants  confess  their  inferiority,  and  acknowledge  that 
Romanists  have  the  preeminence.  But  these  are  ancient 
things  and  recorded  in  the  Romish  breviary. 

Well,  I  will  come  to  modern  things,  not  yet  recorded 
in  the  philosophical  transactions  of  the  Royal  Society, 
and  as  yet  unconnected  with  the  breviary.  Dr.  Cullen, 
chief  bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Ireland,  is  so 
profound  and  scientific  a  scholar,  that  in  the  year  1851  he 
stated  his  belief  that  the  earth  stands  still,  and  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  are  so  courteous  that  they  make  a  daily 
march  round  the  earth  instead  of  giving  the  earth  the  trouble 
60 


710  ROMANISM    NOT    THE   PATRON 

to  march  round  them.  This  is  scientific  progress  as  well  as 
gallantry.  A  French  priest  the  other  day  enunciated  the 
wonderful  discovery,  that  railroads  have  been  sent  as  a  spe- 
cial judgment  on  hotel  keepers  for  providing  their  guests 
with  flesh-meat  during  Lent.  This  is  another  specimen  of 
profound  Popish  science.  In  the  great  metropolis  of  Chris- 
tendom —  in  Rome,  where  there  are  no  heretics  to  disturb 
the  happy  and  peaceful  serenity  of  the  mother  church,  as 
the  fountain  of  all  accomplished  and  scientific  discoveries, 
gas-lights  have  not  yet  been  introduced,  and  when  railroads 
were  proposed  to  be  carried  into  the  holy  city,  the  Pope 
sank  into  his  sacred  slippers  in  perfect  horror  at  the  very 
idea  of  it,  and  only  at  last  consented  to  it  provided  the  pro- 
ject was  carried  out  with  English  money.  It  is  very  curi- 
ous that  if  the  Church  of  Rome  is  so  great  a  patroness  of 
science,  its  city  should  continue  so  little  indebted  to  its  pro- 
ducts, or  so  superior  to  its  discoveries.  The  one  great 
metropolis  of  the  world  which  is  in  all  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  resulting  from  science  a  century  behind  all,  is 
Rome.  But  I  must  investigate  the  Doctor's  deductions  in 
order  to  estimate  the  due  force  of  the  strong  and  unhesitat- 
ing assertion  made  by  Cardinal  Wiseman,  that  the  Church 
of  Rome  is  the  patroness  of  science.  I  will  take  the 
instances  adduced  by  the  cardinal.  Spectacles,  he  said, 
were  invented  by  Armati,  an  Italian  banker,  whereas  the 
truth  is,  they  were  only  improved  by  Armati,  and  were  long 
before  invented  by  a  foreigner.  The  discovery  of  the 
barometer  he  attributes  to  Torricelli.  Let  Torricelli  have 
the  credit  of  it ;  but  was  that  discovery  made  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Roman  hierarchy  or  with  their  approbation  ? 
Did  his  genius  expand  under  the  fostering  influence  of  the 
Romish  priesthood  ?  Quite  the  reverse.  It  was  stated  in 
the  life  of  that  illustrious  man,  that  no  sooner  did  the  priest- 
hood hear  of  his  discovery,  and  the  just  and  scientific 
grounds  on  which  he  explained  it,  than  they  fell  foul  of  him 


BUT    THE    PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  7H 

and  furiously  attacked  bim  for  daring  to  contradict  an  infalli- 
ble, and  as  they  said,  a  Catholic  truth,  that  "  Nature  abhors  a 
vacuum ; "  and  that  the  reason  why  air  rushes  into  an  ex- 
hausted lung,  why  water  rises  in  the  tube  of  the  pump,  and 
why  mercury  rises  and  sinks  in  the  barometer,  is  that 
Nature  had  an  abhorrence  of  a  vacuum.  Nature  must  thus 
have  appeared  to  these  monastic  patrons  of  science  sensi- 
tively squeamish,  fond  of  a  crowd,  and  averse  to  quiet.  But 
Torricelli  explained  the  principle  of  his  barometer  on  very 
different  grounds,  and  Cardinal  Wiseman  should  have  stated 
that  when  he  did  so,  he  met  with  the  violent  opposition  of 
the  priests  of  the  Romish  Church.  But  when  Cardinal 
AViseman  ascribes  electricity  to  Galvani  and  Volta,  he 
eclipses  himself  in  the  Turton  controversy  about  Tittman. 
He  said  Galvani  and  Volta  were  the  great  discoverers  of 
electricity.  Volta  and  Galvani  discovered  some  peculiar 
manifestations  of  the  action  of  electricity ;  but  as  a  science, 
it  had  no  formal  and  real  shape,  until  Davy,  Oersted,  Biot, 
and  Faraday,  took  it  in  hand,  and  before  their  day  Franklin 
and  a  few  others.  He  might  as  well  have  ascribed  steam- 
boats and  locomotives  to  Tubal  Cain.  ]^ut  when  Cardinal 
Wiseman  touched  astronomy  he  went  beyond  all  besides. 
When  he  referred  to  Galileo  he  seemed  to  soar  beyond  him- 
self and  to  rise  to  the  third  heaven ;  but  it  was  on  waxen 
wings,  and  his  fall  was  the  more  terrible  in  the  ratio  of  the 
height  to  which  he  so  indiscreetly  rose.  He  has  transub- 
stantiated a  sufferer  at  the  hands  of  the  Vatican  into  one 
of  the  indigenous  products  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church. 
In  short  he  reads  history  backwards  —  he  pronounced  a 
fact,  as  familiar  as  was  his  presence  in  Leeds  when  he  did 
so,  to  be  a  fiction ;  and  really  it  made  him  look  more  like  a 
cardinal  prince  of  St.  j^?i-Pudentia  than  of  St.  Pudentia. 
His  intrusion  on  the  rights  and  privileges  of  our  Queen  and 
our  Established  Church  was  tolerably  bold,  but  this  experi- 
ment on  our  patience,  this  attempt  to  obliterate  history  or  to 


712  ROMANISM   NOT    THE   PATRON 

adapt  it  to  pious  uses,  looks  like  an  effort  to  set  up  in  Eng- 
land a  new  Procustes'  bed,  on  which  patients  are  laid  and 
cut  shorter  or  stretched  longer  as  may  be  required  —  not  a 
bed  fitted  to  the  patient,  but  the  patient  to  the  bed.  In 
short,  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Wiseman  all  facts  in  history,  all 
laws,  all  languages,  and  all  arguments  must  be  chopped  and 
squared  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  E-omish  Church. 

Galileo's  history  was  a  ceaseless  conflict  with  a  bigoted, 
intolerant,  and  superstitious  priesthood.  His  discovery  of 
the  absurdity  of  the  Aristotehan  philosophy,  the  founder  of 
which  occupied  a  place  second  only  to  the  Pope's,  led  him 
to  attack  that  inveterate  system;  and  for  doing  that  very 
thing,  as  an  essential  preliminary  to  sound  scientific  inquiry, 
Nizzoli,  who  flourished  nearly  fifty  years  before,  was  perse- 
cuted ;  and  Geordane  Bruno,  nearly  a  contemporary,  was 
burned  at  Rome  for  doing  what  Galileo  once  more  ventured 
to  attempt.  It  was  the  republic  at  Venice  —  not  the  college 
of  cardinals  —  who  first  provided  Galileo  with  a  situation  as 
professor  in  Padua  and  a  suitable  stipend.  Such  informa- 
tion on  magnetism  as  Galileo  possessed  he  owned  to  have 
derivt  fi  from  Dr.  Gilbert,  an  Englishman,  whose  work  De 
Magnete  he  exceedingly  admired.  It  was  on  a  visit  to  a 
friend  at  Venice,  in  1609,  that  he  heard  that  a  Dutchman, 
Hans  Lippersheim,  had  invented  an  optical  instrument  which 
had  the  singular  property  of  causing  distant  objects  to  appear 
near.  This  Dutchman  had  a  telescope  made  by  himself  in 
October,  1608.  Fucarius  stated  that  one  of  these  telescopes 
had  been  brought  to  Florence  lono;  before  Galileo's  was 
made,  and  Sirturus  states  that  a  Frenchman,  a  partner  of 
the  Dutch  inventor,  came  to  Milan  in  May,  1609,  and  offered 
a  telescope  for  sale  to  the  Count  de  Fuentes.  It  was  stated 
by  Sir  David  Brewster  that  Galileo  was  not  the  inventor  of 
the  telescope,  and  a  more  competent  scientific  judge  could 
not  be  quoted  than  Sir  David.  Telescopes  were  invented 
in  the  Protestant  country  of  Holland,  and  thus  one  of  the 


BUT   THE   PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  713 

cardinal's  claims,  that  Galileo  invented  the  telescope,  was 
disposed  of.  So  unpopular  were  Galileo's  discoveries  of  the 
satellites  of  Jupiter,  that  the  principal  professor  in  Padua 
resisted  Galileo's  entreaties  to  look  through  his  telescope, 
and  argued  from  analogy  tliat  what  Galileo  saw  was  im- 
possible. When  Galileo  brought  his  telescope  to  Rome, 
some  of  the  cardinals  were  alarmed,  but  being  the  wonder 
of  the  age,  out  of  curiosity  alone  to  see  so  talented  a  man, 
they  did  not  resist  his  arrival.  Sir  David  Brewster  said, 
"  the  Aristotelian  philosophers,  the  temporizing  Jesuits,  the 
political  churchmen,  entered  into  an  alliance  against  Galileo, 
and  threatened  him  with  the  penalties  of  his  scientific  dis- 
covery." In  1613,  Gahleo  having  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Popish  Abbe,  Costelli,  stating  that  the  Bible  was  not  de- 
signed to  teach  science  and  philosophy,  and  that  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Scriptures  was  to  be  interpreted  in  its  common 
interpretation,  Caccini,  a  Dominican  friar,  ascended  the 
pulpit  and  took  for  his  text  what  he  thought  in  itself  a 
splendid  argument  against  Galileo,  "  Ye  men  of  Galilee, 
why  stand  ye  here  looking  up  into  heaven  ?  "  It  is  but  fair 
to  state,  however,  that  Maraffi,  the  general  of  the  Domini- 
cans, expressed  his  regret,  while  he  indicated  the  extent  of 
the  opposition,  by  saying  he  could  not  be  responsible  for  the 
conduct  of  forty  thousand  brutal  monks. 

How  was  Galileo  further  treated  under  the  auspices  of  a 
church  which  was  the  gracious  patroness  of  science  ?  He 
was  summoned  to  appear  at  Rome  in  the  year  1615,  and 
cited  before  the  Inquisition  to  answer  for  the  heretical  doc- 
trines which  he  had  published.  He  was  charged  with 
maintaining  the  motion  of  the  earth  and  the  stability  of  the 
sun.  On  the  25th  of  February,  1615,  it  was  decreed  that 
Galileo  should  be  enjoined  by  Cardinal  Bellarmine  to  re- 
nounce his  obnoxious  doctrines,  and  to  pledge  himself  neither 
to  teach  them  in  public  nor  to  defend  them  in  future.  In 
GO* 


714  KOMANISM   NOT    THE   FATRON 

the  event  of  his  refusal  to  acquiesce  in  this  sentence,  it  was 
decreed  that  he  should  be  thrown  into  prison. 

Professor  Playfair  has  observed,  "  The  church  itself  was 
roused  into  action  by  reflecting  that  it  had  staked  the  in- 
fallibility of  its  judgment  on  the  truth  of  the  very  opinions 
which  were  now  in  danger  of  being  overthrown.  Thus  was 
formed  a  vast  combination  of  men,  not  very  scrupulous 
about  the  means  which  they  used  to  annoy  their  adversaries; 
the  power  was  entirely  in  their  hands,  and  there  was  nothing 
but  truth  and  reason  to  be  opposed  to  it.  .  .  .  It  was  de- 
termined to  silence  by  force  an  adversary  who  could  not  be 
put  down  by  argument. 

"  His  dialogues  contained  a  full  exposition  of  the  evidence 
of  the  earth's  motion,  and  set  forth  the  errors  of  the  old,  as 
well  as  the  discoveries  of  the  new  j^hilosophy,  Avith  great 
force  of  reasoning,  and  with  the  charms  of  the  most  lively 
eloquence.  They  are  written,  indeed,  with  such  singular 
felicity,  that  one  reads  them  at  the  present  day,  when  the 
truths  contained  in  them  are  known  and  admitted,  Mdth  all 
the  delight  of  novelty,  and  feels  one's  self  carried  back  to  the 
period  when  the  telescope  was  first  directed  to  the  heavens, 
and  when  the  earth's  motion,  with  all  its  train  of  conse- 
quencCvS,  was  proved  for  the  first  time.  The  author  of  such 
a  work  could  not  be  forgiven.  —  Gahleo,  accordingly,  was 
twice  brought  before  the  Inquisition. 

"  The  first  time,  a  council  of  seven  cardinals  pronounced 
a  sentence  which,  for  the  sake  of  those  disposed  to  believe 
that  power  can  subdue  truth,  ought  never  to  be  forgotten : 
'  That  to  maintain  the  sun  to  be  immovable,  and  without 
local  motion,  in  the  centre  of  the  world,  is  an  absurd  propo- 
sition, false  in  philosophy,  heretical  in  religion,  and  contrary 
to  the  testimony  of  Scripture.  That  it  is  equally  absurd 
and  false  in  philosophy  to  assert  that  the  earth  is  not 
immovable  in  the  centre  of  the  world,  and,  considered  theo- 
logically, equally  erroneous  and  heretical. 


BUT   THE   PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  715 

"  These  seven  theologians  might  think  themselves  officially 
entitled  to  decide  on  what  was  heretical  or  orthodox  in  faith, 
but  that  they  should  determine  what  was  true  or  false  in 
philosophy,  was  an  insolent  invasion  of  a  territory  into 
which  they  had  no  right  to  enter,  and  is  a  proof  how  ready 
men  are  to  suppose  themselves  wise,  merely  because  they 
happen  to  be  powerful. 

"  At  this  time  a  promise  was  extorted  from  Galileo,  that 
he  would  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  the  earth's  motion,  either 
by  speaking  or  by  writing.  To  this  promise  he  did  not 
conform.  His  third  dialogue,  published,  though  not  till  long 
afterwards,  contained  such  a  full  display  of  the  beauty  and 
simplicity  of  the  new  system,  and  such  an  exposure  of  the 
inconsistencies  of  Ptolemy  and  Tycho,  as  completed  the 
triumph  of  Copernicus. 

"In  the  year  1663,  Galileo,  now  seventy  years  old,  being 
brought  before  the  Inquisition,  was  forced  solemnly  to  dis- 
avow his  belief  in  the  earth's  motion ;  and  condemned  to 
perpetual  imprisonment,  though  the  sentence  was  afterwards 
mitigated,  and  he  was  allowed  to  return  to  Florence.  The 
court  of  Rome  was  very  careful  to  publish  this  second 
recantation  all  over  Europe,  thinking,  no  doubt,  that  it  was 
administering  a  complete  antidote  to  the  belief  of  the  Coper- 
nican  system.  The  sentence,  indeed,  appears  to  have 
pressed  very  heavily  on  Galileo's  mind,  and  he  never  after- 
wards either  talked  or  wrote  on  the  subject  of  astronomy. 
Such  was  the  triumph  of  his  enemies,  on  whom  ample  ven- 
geance would  have  long  ago  been  executed,  if  the  indigna- 
tion and  contempt  of  posterity  could  reach  the  mansions  of 
the  dead." 

His  libel,  as  given  by  Limborch,  is :  — 

"Whereas,  you  Galileus,  of  Florence,  aged  70,  were 
informed  against  in  the  year  1615,  in  this  holy  office,  for 
maintaining  as  true  a  certain  false  doctrine,  held  by  many, 
viz.  —  that  the  sun  is  the  centre  of  the  world,  and  immov 


716  EOMANISM   NOT   THE   PATKON 

able,  and  that  the  earth  moves  round  it  with  a  daily  motion. 
Likewise,  that  you  have  certain  scholars  to  whom  you  have 
taught  the  same  doctrine.  Likewise,  that  you  have  kept  up 
a  correspondence  with  certain  German  mathematicians  con- 
cerning the  same.  Likewise,  that  you  have  published  cer- 
tain letters  concerning  the  solar  spots,  in  which  you  have 
explained  the  same  doctrine  as  true,  and  that  you  have 
answered  the  objections  which,  in  several  places  were  made 
against  you,  from  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by 
construing  or  glossing  over  the  said  Scriptures,  according  to 
your  own  opinions.  And,  finally,  whereas  the  copy  of  a 
waiting,  under  the  form  of  a  letter,  reported  to  have  been 
written  by  you  to  one  who  was  formerly  your  scholar,  has 
been  shown  to  us,  in  which  you  have  followed  the  hypothe- 
sis of  Copernicus,  which  contains  certain  propositions  con- 
trary to  the  true  sense  and  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

"  Now,  this  holy  tribunal,  being  desirous  to  provide 
against  the  inconveniences  and  dangers  which  this  state- 
ment may  occasion,  to  the  detriment  of  the  holy  faith,  by 
the  command  of  the  most  eminent  lords,  cardinals,  etc.  of 
this  supreme  and  universal  Inquisition,  have  caused  the  two 
following  propositions  concerning  the  immovability  of  the 
sun,  and  the  motion  of  the  earth,  to  be  thus  qualified  by 
the  divines,  viz.  — 

"  That  the  sun  is  the  centre  of  the  world  and  immovable, 
with  a  local  motion,  is  an  absurd  proposition,  false  in  philos- 
ophy, and  absolutely  heretical,  because  it  is  expressly  con- 
trary to  the  holy  Scriptures. 

"  That  the  earth  is  neither  the  centre  of  the  world  nor 
immovable,  but  that  it  possesses  a  daily  motion,  is  likewise 
an  absurd  proposition,  false  in  philosophy,  and,  theologically 
considered,  at  least  erroneous  in  point  of  faith. 

"  But,  as  it  pleased  us  in  the  first  instance  to  proceed 
kindly  with  you,  it  was  decreed  in  the  said  congregation, 
held  before  our  lord  N.  Feb.  25,  anno  1616,  that  the  most 


BUT    THE   PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  717 

eminent  lord  cardinal  Bellarmine  should  command  you,  that 
you  should  entirely  depart  from  the  said  false  doctrine,  and 
in  case  you  should  refuse  to  obey  him,  that  you  should  be 
commanded  by  the  commissary  of  the  holy  office,  to  aban- 
don the  same,  and  that  you  should  neither  teach  it  to  others, 
defend  it,  nor  say  any  thing  concerning  it,  and  that,  if  you 
should  not  submit  to  this  order,  you  should  be  put  in  gaol," 
etc.,  etc. 

After  a  long  account  of  the  errors  of  Galileo's  writings, 
their  condemnation  of  the  same,  and  their  dealings  with  the 
unhappy  author  in  order  to  his  recantation,  the  holy  fathers 
proceed  as  follows :  — 

"  Invoking,  therefore,  the  most  holy  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  of  his  most  glorious  mother,  Mary,  ever  a 
virgin,  we  do,  by  this  our  definitive  sentence,  which,  sitting 
in  our  tribunal,  we  pronounce  in  these  writings,  with  the 
advice  and  judgment  of  the.  reverend  masters,  doctors  of 
divinity,  and  both  laws,  with  whom  we  have  consulted  con- 
cerning the  cause  and  causes  now  depending  before  us, 
between  the  magnificent  Carolus  Sincerus,  doctor  of  both 
laws,  and  procurator  of  the  exchequer  of  this  holy  office, 
of  the  one  part,  and  you  Galileus  Galilei,  a  criminal  here, 
under  the  power  of  the  Inquisition,  by  this  present  written 
process,  examined  and  confessed  as  above,  of  tlie  other  part; 
We  do  say,  judge,  and  declare,  that  you,  the  aforesaid  Gali- 
leus, have,  upon  account  of  those  things,  which  are  pro- 
duced in  the  written  process,  and  which  you  have  confessed 
as  above,  subjected  yourself  to  a  strong  suspicion  of  heresy 
in  this  holy  office,  by  believing  and  holding  to  be  true  a  doc- 
trine which  is  false  and  contrary  to  the  sacred  and  divine 
Scripture ;  viz.  —  that  the  sun  is  the  centre  of  the  orb  of 
the  earth,  and  does  not  move  from  the  east  to  the  west ;  and 
that  the  earth  moves,  and  is  not  the  centre  of  the  world ; 
and  that  these  things  may  be  considered  and  defended  as 
probable  opinions,  although  they  have  been  declared  axid 


718  ROMANISM   NOT   THE   PATRON 

determined  to  be  contrary  to  the  sacred  Scripture;  and, 
consequently,  that  you  have  incurred  all  the  censures  and 
penalties  appointed  and  promulgated  by  the  sacred  canons, 
and  other  general  and  particular  acts  against  such  offenders ; 
from  which  it  is  our  pleasure  that  you  should  be  absolved, 
provided  that  you  do  first,  with  a  sincere  heart,  and  a  true 
faith,  abjure,  curse,  and  detest,  before  us,  the  aforesaid 
errors  and  heresies,  and  every  other  error  and  heresy  con- 
trary to  the  Catholic  and  apostolic  Roman  Church,  in  the 
form  which  shall  be  prescribed  to  you  by  us." 

In  order  to  arrest  the  progress  of  science  and  the  dis- 
coveries it  was  introducing,  and  in  order  to  do  so  effectually, 
they  inserted  in  the  Index  Galileo's  letters  to  Castelli,  and 
to  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Tuscany,  Kepler's  epitome  of  the 
Copernican  theory,  and  the  work  of  Copernicus  on  the  revo- 
lution of  the  heavenly  bodies.  That  the  conduct  of  Galileo 
was  otherwise  correct,  and  his  orthodoxy  otherwise  pure 
was  attested  by  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  in  a  letter  to  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany,  containing  the  following  words  —  "  We 
find  in  him  the  love  of  piety ;  we  have  willed  to  give  him 
this  honorable  testimony  of  virtue  and  piety."  Galileo  not 
ceasing  to  teach  the  new  theory.  Urban  VIII.  referred  his 
work  to  the  Inquisition.  Old  and  sick,  the  philosopher  was 
dragged  to  Rome,  again  condemned  to  be  imprisoned  by  the 
holy  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition  during  its  pleasure.  To 
escape  being  burned,  which  would  have  been  his  doom,  he 
laid  his  hand  on  the  holy  gospels  —  he  did  that  which  noth- 
ing could  justify — and  abjured  and  detested  his  deliberate 
convictions,  and  vowed  never  again  to  teach  the  doctrine  of 
the  earth's  motion  and  of  the  sun's  stability. 

I  ask  from  these  facts,  is  it  true  that  Galileo  either  dis- 
covered his  problems,  or  was  able  to  elucidate  or  institute 
his  discoveries  under  the  fostering  patronage  of  a  Pope,  the 
Inquisition,  the  cardinals,  bishops,  or  priests  of  that  day  ? 
Such  is  the  love  of  science  in  the  bosom  of  Dr.  Wiseman's 


BUT   THE   PERSECUTOR    OP   SCIENCE.  719 

church  that,  ecclesiastically  considered,  Galileo  died  as  a 
prisoner  of  the  Inquisition,  and  that  horrible  tribunal 
doubted  his  right  to  make  a  will,  and  whether  he  could  be 
buried  in  consecrated  ground ;  and  though  a  large  sum  was 
subscribed  for  erecting  a  monument  to  him  in  the  church 
Santa  Croce,  the  Pope  would  not  allow  the  design  to  be 
carried  out,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  an  obscure  nook 
of  the  church,  and  were  thirty  years  without  a  tablet. 
Cardinal  "Wiseman  says,  Galileo  suffered  for  his  religion, 
and  not  for  his  scientific  opinions.  Were  that  the  fact,  it 
u^ould  only  more  deeply  and  darkly  brand  the  Romish 
Church ;  for  by  the  mouth  of  one  of  her  prominent  bishops 
she  is  charged  with  inflicting  penal  judgments,  imprison- 
ment, and  deprivation  of  Christian  burial  on  men  for  hold- 
ing certain  religious  sentiments,  and  even  after  renunciation 
for  the  error  of  reading  God's  Word  and  inferring  its  mean- 
ing. The  cardinal  thus  relieves  his  church  from  the  charge 
of  proscribing  science,  by  branding  her  with  the  more  terri- 
ble crime  of  crushing  liberty  and  conscience  and  true  reli- 
gion. Both  charges  can  be  substantiated  against  her,  but  in 
this  case  —  the  case  of  Galileo  —  it  was  not  Protestantism, 
but  science ;  not  a  religious  truth,  but  a  scientific  fact  that 
Rome  denounced,  and  by  the  mouth  of  some  of  her  sons 
denounces  even  to  this  day.  The  monks  and  inquisitors 
were  perfectly  indifferent  to  science  and  religion  too.  Only 
any  fact  disclosed  by  the  one,  or  doctrine  educed  from  the 
great  formularies  of  the  other  that  threatened,  or  could  be 
construed  to  disturb,  the  domination  and  supremacy  of  the 
Vatican,  Pope,  and  prelate,  and  inquisitor,  and  monk  hunted 
down  without  mercy,  and  at  any  risk.  Statuary  and  paint- 
ing Rome  always  encouraged.  These  are  parts  of  her 
service,  the  decorations  of  her  system ;  essential,  in  order  to 
conceal  its  errors,  and  to  add  to  its  alien  but  attractive  glo- 
ries. In  these  there  is  scarcely  any  possibility  of  embody- 
ing heresy.    Protestants  do  not  require  for  their  sanctuaiies 


720  ROMANISM   NOT    THE    PATRON 

painters  and  statuaries  of  a  scripture  character,  or  a  tradi- 
tional martyr ;  the  one  is  not  necessarily  hostile  to  Roman- 
ism, and  the  other  positively  allied.  Destitute  of  the  inner 
spiritual  and  moral  glory;  exhausted  of  vital  and  growing 
strength;  dependent  on  earthly  and  material  resources, 
Romanism  gathers  round  her  all  that  could  charm  the  vul- 
gar, propitiate  the  tasteful,  and  awaken  admiration,  even  if 
at  the  expense  of  holy,  and  saving,  and  sanctifying  feeling. 
Like  the  ancient  Egyptian  temples,  the  creeping  things  of 
the  Nile  may  be  the  gods  within,  but  all  the  resources  of 
artistic  genius  are  combined  in  giving  grandeur  and  magnifi- 
cence without.  Italy,  in  spite  of  Popery,  is  beautiful ;  and 
were  it  not  for  the  repressive  power  of  the  Popedom,  its 
modern  would  eclipse  its  ancient  glory.  Its  soil  and  its  sun 
are  splendid;  its  antecedents  and  traditional  glories  are 
sufficient  to  stir  colder  hearts  than  those  that  beat  in  Italian 
bosoms. 

But  it  is  rather  singular  that  the  cardinal  scarcely  alluded 
to  the  poets  of  his  beloved  Rome  and  scientific  Italy.  Why 
did  he  not  mention  Dante,  Petrarch,  Ariosto,  Tasso?  It 
might  have  reminded  his  hearers  that  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury Rome  had  not  a  single  copy  of  Homer,  and  that  Pe- 
trarch was  overwhelmed  with  joy  on  receiving  one  from  the 
Greeks.  It  might  have  reminded  his  audience  of  Petrarch's 
sonnet  — 

"  Fontana  di  dolore,  albergo  d'  ira, 
Scola  d'  errori,  e  tempio  d'  heresia, 
Gia  Roma,  hor  Babilonia,  falsa  e  ria, 
*  Per  cui  tanto  piange  e  si  sopira ; 

0  fucina  d'  inganni,  o  prigion  d'  ira 
Ovi  a  buoa  muore  et  i  mal  si  nutre  e  cria ; 
Di  vivi  inferno!  un  gran  miracolo  sia 
Se  Christo  teco  al  fine  non  s'  adira. 

"  Fountain  of  grief,  abode  of  anger,  school  of  errors,  and 
temple  of  heresy ;  formerly  Rome,  now  Babylon,  false  and 


BUT   THE*  PERSECUTOR    OP    SCIENCE.  721 


guilty,  through  whom  there  are  so  many  tears  and  sighs ; 
mistress  of  deceit,  of  prisons  of  wrath,  where  the  good 
perish  and  the  bad  are  cherished  and  engendered ;  hell  of 
the  living !  it  will  be  a  great  marvel  if  Christ  is  not  angry 
with  thee  at  last."  *  We  cannot  rest  upon  painting  and 
music  when  the  great  struggle  comes ;  we  must  fall  back 
upon  the  press,  and  poetry  lived  by  the  press,  therefore 
poetry  and  the  Church  of  Rome  have  never  been  very  good 
friends.  No  wonder  that  Cardinal  Wiseman  did  not  in  his 
lecture  speak  of  the  poets :  they  were  too  outspoken  for 
him.  Even  the  celebrated  Pope,  a  Romanist,  had  been 
obliged  to  write  — 

"  See  Eome,  proud  mistress  of  the  world  no  more, 
But  loudly  thundering  against  heathen  lore; 
Her  gray-haired  synods  damning  books  unread, 
And  Bacon  trembUng  for  his  brazen  head; 
See  graceless  Venus  to  a  virgin  turned, 
And  Phidias  broken,  and  ApoUos  burned; 
A  second  deluge  learning  thus  o'erran, 
And  the  monks  finished  what  the  Goths  began." 

But  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  almost  all  the  discov- 
eries in  science  quoted  by  Cardinal  Wiseman  as  the  growth 
of  Italy  under  Romish  patronage,  occurred  subsequent  to 
the  glorious  Reformation.  Is  not  this  suggestive  evidence  ? 
M.  Biot,  in  his  announcement  of  the  third^volume  of  the 
great  work  of  Laplace  confirms  all  I  have  said,  and  seems 
to  regard  the  Reformation  as  the  true  parent  of  progress 
in  scientific  knowledge.  He  says,  "About  two  hundred 
years  ago  a  man  of  genius,  for  having  discovered  and  col- 
lected the  incontestable  proofs  of  the  motion  of  the  earth, 
was  condemned  as  a  heretic  to  perpetual  imprisonment  by  a 
court  of  the  Inquisition.  Now,  a  complete  treatise  on  the 
celestial  motions  is  published  without  restraint.     Its  illus- 

*  Petr.  Part.  L,  Son.  108,  p.  149,  vol.  4.    Basil.  1581. 
61 


722  ROMANISM   NOT    THE    TATKON 

trious  author  beholds  the  sciences  honored  in  his  person  by 
the  first  dignitaries  of  the  state  —  how  much  progress  in  so 
short  a  time,  and  how  vast  a  space  gone  over  since  the  days 
of  Galileo ! "  This  admission  by  an  illustrious  man  of 
science  implies  that  ascendant  Romanism  is  hostile  to 
science,  and  that  the  same  glorious  event  that  opened  the 
Bible  led  forth  imprisoned  science  also.  It  was  under 
the  protecting  wings  of  the  Reformation  that  the  Keplers, 
the  Newtons,  the  Laplaces,  the  Faradays,  and  others  had 
been  able  to  pursue  their  investigations.  "Wherever  the 
Reformation  has  spread,  the  apparatus  of  censures,  the 
indices,  and  the  Inquisition  have  disappeared.  Reason  has 
taken  the  place  of  force ;  discussion  has  dislodged  inqui- 
sition ;  and  men  think  and  study,  and  give  forth  the 
result,  satisfied  with  the  patronage  of  a  fair,  full,  and  ample 
opportunity.  Before  Cardinal  Wiseman  can  prove  the  ex- 
travagant position  he  has  laid  down,  he  must  extinguish 
three  hundred  years,  and  after  he  has  done  so  it  will  be  to 
introduce  the  world  to  science,  breaking  forth  in  irrepressible 
might  in  spite  of  the  repressive  presence,  not  in  consequence 
of  the  fostering  patronage  of  the  Popedom. 

Thus  we  have  seen  how  many  of  the  discoveries  in 
science  claimed  for  Italian  Romanists  by  Cardinal  Wiseman, 
disappear  and  dissolve  in  clearer  light,  and  how  very  de- 
fective must  be  the  scientific  triumphs  of  Rome,  since  such 
are  her  chiefest,  if  not  her  only  proofs.  But  the  truth  is, 
Italy  never  received  from  Romanism  any  thing  but  degra- 
dation, imprisonment,  proscription,  and  misery.  To  ascribe 
to  the  influence  of  Romanism  whatever  genius  has  struck 
out  or  research  disclosed,  in  the  Italian  Peninsula,  is  as 
absurd  as  to  attribute  to  the  influence  of  Protestantism  the 
Papal  aggression.  There  is  sunshine  and  balmy  air  in 
Italy,  and  vineyards  and  hills  clothed  with  lovely  vegetation 
to  their  summits,  but  Italy,  not  Romanism,  is  the  parent  of 
all  this  beauty.     There  are  magnificent  remains  of  statuary 


BUT   THE    PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  723 

and  architecture  and  ancient  art,  yet  not  the  Popes  but  the 
Caesars  have  any  credit  for  them.  The  few  scientific  men 
that  dared  to  show  themselves  in  Italy  arose  like  scattered 
tall  trees  amid  swamps  and  an  undergrowth  of  noxious  vege- 
tation, indicating  that  inherent,  indomitable  vitality  and  force 
which  no  hostile  elements  could  repress.  Fevrier  and 
Jacques,  I  ought  to  have  added,  two  French  commentators 
on  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  even  so  late  as  1742,  prefixed  to  his 
Principia  this  declaration  —  "Newton  assumed  in  this  book 
the  hypothesis  of  the  earth's  motion.  The  proposition  of 
that  author  could  not  be  explained  otherwise  than  by  making 
the  same  hypothesis.  Hence  we  have  been  forced  to  admit 
a  character  not  our  own.  But  we  declare  our  submission  to 
the  decrees  directed  by  the  Romish  pontiffs  against  the 
motion  of  the  earth."  But  I  will  carry  the  cardinal  to  an 
epoch  and  a  social  condition  when  Rome  had  it  all  her  own 
way. 

From  the  sixth  to  the  sixteenth  century  Romanism  was 
in  the  ascendant,  its  power  was  absolute,  heresy  of  any  kind 
barely  disturbed  it.  Surely,  then,  these  ages,  all  moving 
under  the  influence  of  the  Tiara,  were  ages  of  unrivalled 
glory,  and  Europe  was  a  garden  of  wondrous  and  beautiful 
creations  ?  Alas !  human  nature  never  sunk  lower ;  as  to  ig- 
norance, religion,  and  scientific  and  literary  pursuits  the  at- 
mosphere was  never  so  thick.  "  The  dark  ages  "  is  a  feeble 
description  of  that  state  of  things.  Hildebrand,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Abbot  of  Cluny,  says,  "  The  Romans  among  whom  I 
dwell  are  worse  than  Jews  and  Pagans."  King  Alfred 
complained  that  there  was  not  a  priest  from  the  Humber  to 
the  Thames  who  understood  the  liturgy  in  his  mother 
tongue,  or  who  could  translate  the  easiest  piece  of  Latin, 
and  that  from  the  Thames  to  the  sea  ecclesiastics  were,  if 
possible,  more  ignorant.  Hallam  says  that  contracts  were 
verbal,  because  no  one  could  be  found  learned  enough  to 
draw  up  charters.     Leo  X.  issued  the  most  severe  prohibi- 


724  ROMANISM    NOT    THE    PATRON 

tions  against  books  translated  from  Greek,  Hebrew,  or 
Arabic.  Learning  was  all  but  quenched  in  places  coexten- 
sive with  the  jurisdiction  of  Popedom,  and  the  spread  and 
influence  of  the  Romish  faith.  It  was  the  Greek  monks,  — 
schismatics  in  the  judgment  of  Dr.  Wiseman,  —  who  repu- 
diated the  pretensions  of  the  Popedom,  who  transcribed 
Homer  and  Plato  in  their  cells;  and  it  was  schismatic 
Greek  scholars  that  fled  towards  Italy  on  the  fall  of  Con- 
stantinople, who  rekindled  the  lights  of  literature  in  dark, 
degenerate,  and  priestridden  Italy.  The  last  retreats  of 
knowledge  and  literature  were  not  in  Italy,  nor  in  Spain, 
nor  within  the  limits  of  the  Western  Church,  but  amid  the 
heights  of  Athos,  the  peaks  of  Meteora,  the  caves  of  Arca- 
dia ;  and  if  the  schismatic  Greek  Church  had  not  nursed  the 
learning  that  this  barbarous  priesthood  of  Rome  trod  out, 
Italy,  and  Spain,  and  England,  had  probably  sunk  as  low  as 
Egypt  and  Babylon  and  Nineveh.  Most  assuredly  a  New- 
ton, a  Franklin,  a  Locke,  a  Shakspeare,  a  Milton,  never 
would  have  emerged  out  of  the  stagnant  swamps,  and  from 
under  the  priest  infected  air  of  the  religion  of  Hildebrand. 
During  these  dark  ages,  the  Mahomedan  in  the  East  was 
far  more  enlightened  than  the  Romanists  were ;  Caliphs 
could  have  instructed  Cardinals,  and  Arabs,  Romans.  Ma- 
homedanism  sheltered  what  the  church  of  Cardinal  Wise- 
man persecuted  and  proscribed.  Dante  and  Petrarch  com- 
posed their  works  in  exile ;  Bocaccio  bitterly  complains  of 
the  persecution  of  which  he  was  the  victim;  Machiavelli 
was  persecuted  by  the  Medici ;  Guicciardini  wrote  his  his- 
tory in  voluntary,  yet  in  inevitable  banishment;  Ariosto 
lived  in  beggary ;  Tasso  died  in  despair  and  want.  Yet 
these  celebrated  men  were  so  treated  under  the  fostering 
care  of  Romanism.  The  Inquisition  of  Cologne  obtained 
an  imperial  edict  to  burn  all  Hebrew  books;  and  one  of 
them,  Hochshaten,  wanted  to  prove,  in  reference  to  the 
Romish  Church,  that  the  study  of  Greek  as  well  as  Hebrew 


BUT    THE    PERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  725 

was  pernicious  to  its  faith.  Even  the  faculty  of  Theology 
at  Paris  declared  that  religion  was  ruined  if  the  study  of 
Greek  and  Hebrew  was  permitted.  The  words  of  a  men- 
dicant monk,  as  given  by  Conrad,  of  Heresbach,  are: 
"  They  have  invented  a  new  language,  which  they  call 
Greek.  You  must  be  carefully  on  your  guard  against  it ; 
it  is  the  mother  of  all  heresy.  I  see  in  the  hands  of  men  a 
book  written  in  that  language,  which  they  called  the  New 
Testament;  it  is  full  of  daggers  and  poison.  As  to  the 
Hebrew,  it  is  certain  that  all  those  who  learn  it  become 
Jews." 

Further,  the  Church  of  Rome  has  drawn  up  indices,  and 
has  put  in  the  Index  Prohihitorius  almost  every  noble  work 
which  has  proceeded  from  the  pen  of  man.  All  the  religious 
writings  of  Protestants  we  may,  of  course,  expect  to  be  there. 
But  not  merely  the  religious,  but  the  ethical  and  literary 
productions  of  Protestant  authors  are  proscribed.  Among 
those  are  all  the  modern  authors  of  eminence.     In  theology 

—  WyclifFe,  Luther,  Calvin,  Sherlock,  Tillotson,  Fisher, 
Whitby,  Prideaux,  and  Michaelis ;  in  scholarship  —  Scali- 
ger,  Campanella,  Savanarola,  Fleury,  Lightfoot,  Dupin, 
Bayle,  Cudworth  ;  among  the  historians  —  Hallam,  Robert- 
son, H-ume,  Burnett,  Maimebourg,  Mosheim,  Merle  D'Au- 
bigne.  The  only  historian  she  has  left  out  is  the  infidel.  Gib- 
bon. "Why  is  not  Gibbon  there  ?  Because  infidelity  and 
Romanism  —  like  sin  and  death,  as  seen  by  the  poet,  Milton 

—  at  first  thought  they  were  the  most  distant,  hostile  per- 
sons ;  but  when  they  came  together  to  compare  notes,  they 
found  they  were  intimately,  and  almost  closely  related  to 
each  other.  Thus  we  may  expect  that  while  infidelity  was 
at  the  bottom  of  the  excesses  which  were  committed  in  1793, 
it  will  be  discovered  at  the  last  day  that  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
and  others  of  that  stamp,  were  the  guilty  but  unfortunate 
victims  of  a  teaching  with  which  the  Jesuits  had  imbued  the 
mind  from  its  earliest  and  most  susceptible  moments.    In 


726  ROMANISM    NOT    THE    PATRON 

this  index  are  also  included  the  philosophers  —  Bacon, 
Bentham,  Malebranche,  Leibnitz,  Condorcet,  Hobbes,  Locke, 
Kant,  Reid.  Among  the  defenders  of  Christianity  are 
Addison  and  Grotius ;  Newton,  and  all  the  astronomers ; 
Dean  Swift,  of  course;  Dante,  Milton,  and  Beranger 
amongst  the  poets;  there  was  not  a  celebrated  poet  or 
literary  character  which  they  could  not  find  here.  Grant 
an  old  priest  at  Rome  —  not  always  the  wisest  —  the  power 
of  prohibiting  the  circulation  of  any  work  that  crosses  his 
prejudices,  his  preferences,  and  his  passions ;  and  it  is  im- 
possible that  science  can  flourish  under  the  influence  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion.  It  is  recorded  that  a  printer, 
who  had  once  printed  a  heretical  book,  had  all  the  books  he 
printed  condemned.  In  a  work  of  Ignatius  Loyola,  edited 
by  Cardinal  Wiseman,  we  read :  "  If  the  church  decree  to 
be  black  w^hat  you  see  white,  you  are  bound  to  believe  it 
black."  This  Dr.  Wiseman  has  sanctioned  and  published. 
This  prostration  of  the  intellect ;  this  extinction  of  all  per- 
sonality, and  absorption  in  Rome,  is  fatal  to  all  intellectual 
and  scientific  progress.  The  celebrated  Niebuhr,  a  compe- 
tent and  impartial  judge,  vv^riting  from  Rome,  Sept.  24, 
1816,  says:  "I  have  been  acquainted  with  two  or  three  lit- 
erary men,  of  real  ability ;  but  they  are  old  men,  who  have 
only  a  few  jears  to  live ;  and  when  they  are  gone,  Italy 
will  be,  as  they  say  themselves,  in  a  state  of  barbarism." 
On  the  30th  October,  1818,  he  wrote:  "  Rome  is  a  terrible 
place  for  any  one  who  is  melancholy,  because  it  contains  no 
living  person  present  to  relieve  the  sense  of  sadness.  The 
present  is  revolting ;  there  are  not  even  any  remains  of  the 
cloud  of  the  Middle  Ages.  There  is  only  one  man  of  talent 
and  mental  activity  here  —  an  old  ex- Jesuit,  on  the  borders 
of  the  grave ;  and  he  repeats  the  verdict  which  I  have 
already  heard  —  Italia  e  spenta  e  un  corpo  morto ;  which 
means,  *My  Italy  is  exhaust-ed,  and  has  become  a  dead 
corpse.'"     In   May,  1819,  he  wrote:   "Learning  and  lit- 


BUT    THE    rERSECUTOR    OF    SCIENCE.  727 

erature  are  at  a  lower  ebb  than,  perhaps,  iii  any  other 
country." 

But,  were  the  Church  of  Rome  the  most  iUustrious  p'atron 
of  science,  this  would  be  no  proof  of  its  apostolic  and  scrip- 
tural character.  The  Hindoos  are  distinguished  for  scien- 
tific attainments ;  but  Hindooism  is  still  wrong.  The  Chinese 
make  such  attainments  a  passport  to  office  ;  yet  the  doctrines 
of  Confucius  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  considered  right. 
Fallen  angels  know  more  than  Faraday  and  other  scientific 
men ;  but  they  are  fallen  angels  still.  Let  it  never  be  for- 
gotten that  knowledge,  science,  and  literature  are  mere 
power ;  but  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  his  Son  is  everlast- 
ing peace.  The  boy  that  knows  of  no  other  curve  than  that 
generated  by  trundling  his  hoop,  may  be  a  better  Christian 
than  he  w^lio  is  profoundly  versed  in  the  laws  and  nature  of 
cycloidal  curves. 

Where  civil  freedom  is  swallowed  up  by  ecclesiastical 
despotism ;  where  the  Pope  is  also  prince,  and  a  camarilla 
of  cardinals  his  only  parliament ;  where  infallibility  pro- 
nounces its  decisions  ;  where  there  is  a  religion  that  crushes 
free  inquiry,  and  fears  the  liglit ;  where  discussion  is  sup- 
pressed ;  and,  above  all,  where  free  conclusions  of  the  in- 
tellect may  be  punished  with  confiscation  of  goods,  imprison- 
ment, and  death  —  there  science  must  perish,  and  literature 
wither,  and  the  Middle  Ages  become  the  normal  condition 
of  mankind.  In  one  of  the  very  recent  encyclical  letters  of 
the  Pope,  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom  of  the  press  are 
denounced  as  detestable  errors.  In  this  great  land,  and 
under  the  auspices  of  our  Queen  —  our  constitutional  sove- 
reign —  opinion  is  free  as  air :  talent  is  not  only  allowed 
but  welcomed  into  tlie  field  of  competition;  there  is  an 
audience  for  any  one  who  lias  aught  to  say ;  there  is  a  pat- 
ronage for  literature  and  science  far  more  precious  than 
Popes  ever  gave  —  even  the  patronage  of  a  fair  opportunity 
to  all. 


728  ROMANISM  NOT    THE    PATRON,    ETC. 

If  I  may  venture  to  unfold  the  venerable  auspices* of  my 
native  laud,  or  to  cast  its  great  horoscope  in  that  sky  in 
which  so  many  nations  have  waxed  and  waned ;  if  I  may 
inqmre  whether  its  streets  shall  l)e  trod,  and  its  fields  sown, 
and  its  looms  worked,  and  its  arts  and  sciences  and  literature 
ii])held  by  a  i)eople  wortliy  to  speak  the  tongue  of  Milton, 
and  to  inherit  the  renown  of  Newton ;  whether  we  shall 
continue  the  loyal  supporters  of  a  throne  still  rooted  as  the 
granite  rock,  and  the  loving  subjects  of  a  Queen  beautiful 
as  the  flower  iliat  blooms  on  it  —  I  must  first  ascertain  the- 
depth,  and  fervor,  and  spring  of  its  Protestant  Christianity. 
Is  it  drawn  pure  from  the  Bible  ?  Thanks  be  to  God  for 
that  blessed  Book.  Let  no  Romanist  darken  its  glorious 
light ;  let  not  a  shadow  come  between  it  and  us.  I  enter 
the  sanctuary  a  prodigal,  but  a  penitent  prodigal,  seeking 
my  Father's  face ;  and  tliere,  in  its  sacred  pages,  instead  of 
reading  preparations  to  punish  me,  I  find  a  joyous  festival ; 
and,  instead  of  rebukes,  I  hear  ringing  from  the  skies, 
"  This  my  son  was  lost  and  is  found,  was  dead  and  is  alive 
again.*'  This  blessed  Book  tells  me  that  the  fires  of  Sinai 
are  quenched,  and  the  sword  returned  to  the  scabbard ;  and 
the  cherubim,  that  once  bade  me  off  from  the  gates  of  Eden, 
are  now  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of  salvation. 


["OHIVBBSIT 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $I.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


»jtc   3   194" 

s       16Jan'5ept 

Y-v  *«-.  ,^«. ,  ---x     1    5'^'%; 

RE'w  L--  Lu 

DEC  13  i943 

JAM    2  1553 

OCT  25  1945 

800ct!56WJ 

REC'D  LD 

■ 

7Apr'57BRr 

REC'D  LD  ■ 

^    -  5    -1957 

»  zr  .<-««r»flk  n  n  -^^^  W 

rgfev/43HteO' 

mi  mi 

LD  21-100m-7,'40 (6936s) 

m  30068 


/. 


IFORNIA  LIBRARY 


H 


